Those Damn Deities
by pufferpigeon
Summary: Clare Edwards was your average girl, that is, until she discovered she was a descendent of one of the Greek Gods. When love is blossoming and enemies are being made, will she still be able to become one with herself? *Chapters get longer*
1. Chapter 1

**Okay guys, so this is my first story, and I hope you like it! It may not seem like much now, but trust me, I have big plans for this story! :)**

"Hurry up Clare! We're going to be late!" Alli said as I was putting the last of my clothes into my oversized suitcase. Never have I ever been so excited in my entire life! I just recently developed my powers and was now off to the Camp of the Gods, or CG for short. You see, I was born to your average couple of Canada, and was 100% human before my sophomore year in high school. But soon after, I began developing super-human qualities, and that's when my parents told me that I was the daughter of a Greek God! I mean, how much crazier can it get? And to just make life even sweeter, my best friend Alli was a god-descendent as well! So after several discussions with my parents and Alli's, we finally got them to agree to send us to CG to be trained by the professionals on how to control our powers.

"I'm coming!" I yelled as I dragged my bags down the stairs to the front door.

"I'm so excited Clare! We'll finally find out which God or Goddess is the head of our powers!" Alli squealed. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that for children of Gods, we all have the same basic powers (super-human strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and virtual immortality) except for a few exceptional abilities that only the specific person has based on which God or Goddess is their parent.

"Okay you two, let's get a move on. We don't want to upset the Gods," my father said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. I think deep down he is a little jealous that I'm super-human and he is just my plain, average father. But, like I've told him time and time before, no matter what he is, I will always love him.

"Eeeep! Come on Clare! Let's go!" Alli screamed while pulling me to the car. And thus began our journey to the tremendous world of the Gods.

**I will definitely update later today. Reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter! Enjoy!**

"So remember to call me often and let me know how things are going, okay? Don't forget about your loving parents back at home Clare," my mom said to me with a sad smile. I know she's happy for me, but I also know this must me hard for her. I mean, how often do you find out your daughter is connected to the Greek Gods?

"Don't worry Mom, I'll keep you and Dad updated on everything going on. Just don't forget about me either," I said with a cheeky grin, which earned me one last good-bye hug from the both of them.

As I watched my parents' car drive away I felt someone pulling on my arm. I turned around to find an over-excited Alli looking around at all the sights.

"Can you believe we're finally here Clare? Look at all the statues and buildings! They're all so beautiful!" She did have a point. There were statues of several mythical creatures everywhere, and the buildings had a regal and ornate feel to them.

"Okay descendents! Listen up! I'm going to call out your name and house number and you will report there and unpack your bags. Get to know the members of your house, and since you will be one of ten people living in them, I suggest you get along. And also for the fact that they will act as your team in accomplishing the obstacles put in front of you while you're here. Treat them like family now, because that is what they will grow to be, got it?" a counselor said into the megaphone in her hands.

"Got it!" everyone responded.

As the counselor, who is rumor to be the daughter of Pan (the god of the shepherds), went over everyone's names on the list, I began daydreaming of what my life would be like here. Would I come out of my shell more and start opening up to more people. Would I change in any way? Would I meet a nice boy?

"Clare Edwards!" the counselor said, searching the crowd. I shot my hand up to get her attention. "House 4!" she said, earning a nod from me. As I was about to leave toward my house, I remembered Alli. Where did she go? Was she called already?

"Clare! Over here!" Alli screamed from the entrance to the houses. "We're both in House 4! Isn't this going to be so great? We'll be like roommate-sister-best-friends!" she said all at once. All I could do was smile, feeling overwhelmed. This was really it. This proved that I had a place with these people, that I was one of them. But Alli pulling me along while she skipped to our house, cutting my moment short.

Pretty soon we found ourselves in front of a building with a giant "4" on it. It resembled a sort of beach-house/condo-family-home. It had large windows with golden window treatments and a giant brass door with a matching knob.

"…Wow…" Alli and I both said from the sight of our new home. We both walked up the steps, grabbed our bags that were sitting outside of the entrance, and opened the door.

The inside was even more breathtaking then the outside. The moment you walked through the door, you entered a living room/lobby area with maybe five plush-looking coaches, a giant TV screen, a coffee table, and all the works of a game room. To the right was a kitchen, fully equipped with a filled refrigerator, pantry, and serving dishes. To the left was what appeared to be a gym, most likely for the use of keep our strength up for training. But in the back corners of the lobby were two spiral staircases leading up to a fully visible second story to the house. The stairs in the right corner had a picture of a silhouette of Goddess on the bottom of the railing, and the left staircase had the same, only of a God.

Hoisting my bag on my shoulder, I followed Allie up the girls' staircase. There were five girls' rooms, and three of them appeared to already be occupied. So Allie and I took the two closest rooms to the top of the stairs.

The moment I stepped into my room, the once white walls turned to a soft beige color. The bedspread created a romantic rose pattern on it, and the carpet became a sophisticated mahogany color beneath me. The bedrooms must me customized to whoever lives in them. This. Is. So. AMAZING! I ran into Alli's room to see what her's transformed into. Once I stepped into her room though, I was surrounded by bright colors with sparkles everywhere. Her walls did not have paint on them, but instead furry, pink wallpaper. Her bedspread was metallic silver with pink trim, and her carpet was a fluffy, dark purple.

"I cannot believe this," Alli said, almost in a whisper.

"I know right? This is unreal…" I said trailing off, taking in all of her room at once. A little note on her dresser caught me eye. I walked over to it and read it out loud.

"All descendents must report to the meeting hall at 6:00 PM sharp to be tested for whom their parent may be. This meeting is mandatory and will be vital to the rest of your time here at the Camp of the Gods. At the end of the meeting, you will report back to your houses and get to know the rest of your house-members in your lobby's."

"Looks like we'd better get going then. It's 5:55 right now." Alli said, looking at her watch. And like that, she and I ran down the stairs in search for the meeting hall.

**I'm having lots of fun writing this story, so give me feedback please! I'll updater soon. :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3! Just a little preview~ you'll learn everyone's parent God/Goddess in this one!**

Alli and I walked into the meeting hall and saw the entire camp before our eyes. As I looked closer, I realized at least 90% of the kids here went to Degrassi. I guess the Gods in Olympus wanted to keep us all together.

The room was set up with several tables bordering the room with a counselor at each one evaluating descendents and handing them envelopes containing the name of their parent. It kind of looked like career day, only much cooler. Alli and I got on the shortest line we could find and waited for our turn. While we were on line, we talked about life back at Degrassi.

"Have you talked to Eli about, _this_ yet?" she asked me, referring to the chaos around us.

"Actually yeah. And as it turns out, he's a descendent too. He should be here…" I said, looking around the room for that beautiful boy's face.

"Clare," Alli said, frustration in her voice, "When are you and Eli going to finally admit you two like each other? Everyone can see it, so what's holding you back?"

"I just don't want to risk a good friendship is all," I said truthfully. I would much rather have him in my life as a friend than not in it at all if things got weird, him knowing I liked him and all.

"Ow!" Alli said, after having her finger pricked for the test. It was similar to the way diabetics test their blood sugar, only this test will tell you who your parent is, not if your in need of a Hershey bar.

After her test, Alli waved her golden sealed envelope in my face, squealing.

"I'll wait for you outside so we can open them together," she told me.

After she skipped away, I took the seat and got tested. I never liked blood work, but maybe since this one was less painful and more rewarding, I couldn't help but smile once I felt that prick on my finger. After taking my blood, the counselor put the little strip inside some machine that spit out an envelope exactly like Alli's.

"Here you go," he said with a smile. "Thanks," I replied.

I quickly ran outside to find Alli, wanting to rip open my envelope already.

"There you are! Okay, are you ready?" she said giving me a serious look.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I said honestly. That being said, we both tore open our envelopes, hungrily searching the paper, looking for the name of our parent.

"Squee! Clare, guess who I have!" Alli said jumping up and down.

"Who!" I said impatiently.

"Hermes! The messenger God! That's a big name Clare! Everyone knows Hermes, right? Oh, this is so exciting!"

"Ha-ha! Well, you do have a talent of spreading gossip quickly," I said teasingly.

"That I do," she said with a grin. "So, who'd you get? Tell me woman!"

I took a deep breath before I said to her, "Athena. The Goddess of wisdom." I was so star struck to be connected to such a powerful being, much less being her daughter!

"Oh. My. God. She's a huge name, Clare! Everyone definitely knows her! This is so great! We are almighty powerful children of Greek Gods Clare!" she squealed while I giggled naturally.

After the meeting came to an end, everyone headed back to their houses to meet the people they'd be living with.

Once Alli and I stepped through the door, we saw seven familiar faces sitting in a circle on the floor of the lobby. There was KC Guthrie and Jenna Middleton holding hands. I've moved on from the two of them, and we've agreed there would be no hard feelings, but it was still awkward. KC got Jenna pregnant after cheating on me with her in freshman year. She got an abortion, but they were still together. Then there was Fiona Coyne. She was apparently rich, but was nice from what I've heard. Adam was in the circle, too. He was a little sweetheart. He was friends with Alli and me before we even got here. Next to him was his brother Drew. I know Alli liked him and probably intended on getting even closer now that he was going to be living in the same house as us. Fitz was there as well. He was what you would call the school bully. But after pulling a knife on someone last year, he swore he would try and change his ways. And lastly, there was Eli. He's was my English partner at Degrassi, and based on the friendship we've created, I feel like he really gets me. His looks are just an added bonus.

"Hey, you guys are in this house, too?" Adam said with a smile.

"Yup!" I said smiling back and sitting down next to him.

"Is this everyone?" Alli said counting. "This is only nine people. We're missing someone."

And almost on cue, a girl came down the spiral staircase. She was… actually very pretty. Beautiful even. She had dark brown, wavy hair that cascaded softly over her shoulders. Her eyes were brown, but were light and almost piercing. She wore a peasant top with cutoffs and gladiator sandals. Her pale skin seemed to glow with radiance. I guess we were all staring, because she waved her hand in front of her face to bring us all out of our daze.

"Hi, what's your name? You didn't go to Degrassi did you? You don't look familiar," Fiona said after an awkward silence.

"No, I'm from Chicago in the States. My name is Remy," she said fluidly with a friendly smile.

"That's a pretty name. Take a seat," Fiona said, scooting over to make room for her.

"Okay, so to make this get-to-know-you meeting a little more fun, I thought we could play a kind of spin-the-bottle type of game. Only instead of playing for kisses, we play for information on your parent," Drew said pulling out a bottle from behind his back after everyone agreed.

Drew spun it and it landed on KC first.

"Go ahead KC. Tell us about your parent," Drew said.

"Well, I'm the son of Dionysus. He is the God of wine and agriculture."

"What special powers does that mean for you?" Adam said curiously.

"Um, according to this paper, it says I will eventually be able to grow crops anywhere, no matter the type of land," he said, referring to his envelope scroll, sounding unimpressed. "Oh, and I'll also be able to hold down any amounts of liquor," he said with a grin, fist-pounding Fitz and then spinning the bottle. It landed on Alli.

"My turn! Okay, I'm the daughter of Hermes, the messenger God. That means I'll eventually be able to fly at great speeds and will become skilled in thievery," she said with a triumphant smile.

"What about running on the ground? Would you still be super fast?" Fiona asked.

"I don't know. It doesn't say anything about that," she said, looking over her scroll. "Oh well," she said, spinning the bottle. This time, it landed on Fitz.

"Uh, okay… I'm the son of Eris, the Goddess of discord."

"What 's discord," Jenna asked, looking confused.

"It means conflict basically," I told her. She nodded, looking to Fitz to continue.

"So, that means I'll eventually be able to create or resolve any conflict or argument.," he said looking a little confused himself. "Oh well," he said, spinning the bottle. It landed on Adam.

"Boo-yah! Okay, so I'm the son of Eirene, Goddess of peace. So, I'll be able to ease any harsh feelings people hold. Basically bring them peace."

"Peace-out dude," Eli said holding up two fingers, making the "peace sign".

"You dork," Adam said, slapping Eli's shoulder, but still laughing.

"Yeah, yeah, just spin the bottle," Eli said becoming impatient.

Adam spun the bottle, which eventually landed on Jenna.

"Hmm. Alright, I'm the daughter of Aphrodite, Goddess of love," she said, attempting at giving KC a seductive look, but in my opinion, it looked like she had gas.

"Um, Jenna… hello?" Alli said, snapping her fingers in front of Jenna's face.

"What? Oh, sorry. Right, um, so I'll be able to put anyone under a temporary trance from my beauty and make anyone or anything more appealing to the eye. I'll also be able to sense someone's love for someone else," she said grinning like a Cheshire cat. Could she be any more self-absorbed?

"Okay Jenna, spin the bottle," KC said, growing nervous from all eyes being on him and Jenna. She obliged and it landed on Fiona.

"Ah, okay, so I'm the daughter of Apollo, God of the Sun and the arts. Arts, including music, poetry, and such. And from him, I'll eventually be able to learn any instrument, know the moment the Sun will rise and fall without having to look on the news, and be able to draw anything to its exact appearance."

"So you could learn how to play the hurdy gurdy?" Adam said in awe.

"Eventually, yeah," she sad, chuckling at the absurd sounding instrument.

"Your turn Drew," Fiona said, after spinning the bottle.

"I'm the son of Nike, the Goddess of victory. So, I'll be able to predict outcomes of battles and will be highly skilled in military types of procedures."

"No wonder you're so competitive… I remember you once screamed at me and said I was a prick because I beat you at pool," KC said, looking off into the distance as if he was remembering a tough time in his life.

"Yeah, sorry about that again man," Drew said sheepishly. He seemed to want to change the subject, because he spun the bottle quickly and it landed on me.

"Blue eyes, it's your turn, " Eli said turning to me with a smirk. God, I loved that smirk.

I cleared my throat before speaking. "Ek-hem! Um, I'm the daughter of Athena, the Goddess of wisdom," I said, looking up to see alert faces all around. I took that as my cue to continue. "So, um, I will get to, um, eventually, um…" I babbled on trying to look over my scroll, "…oh, I found it. I'll be able to become invisible when needed and know when a behavior or some other form of answer is the correct one. But only for things that may be answered with yes or no. Hmm, what does that mean?"

"It means that if you feel good about doing something, it means it's the right thing to do. And if you feel uneasy about something, it's the wrong thing to do," Remy said suddenly. I almost forgot about her.

"When did you learn that," Fiona asked.

"Uh, it's a long story…" Remy said, looking away. She looked like she didn't want to talk about it, so none of us pushed it.

I took that opportunity to spin the bottle. It landed on Eli, causing me to grow excited in the pit of my stomach. I was really curious about who his parent was.

"Ah, my turn. Well, I, Eli am the son of Hades, God of the Underworld," he said with a satisfied smirk, showing he was pleased with the power he inherited.

"Hades? That's one of the Big Three dude!" Adam said in shock.

"Yeah, your probably the most powerful one in the group!" Fitz said with his eyes bugged out.

" So what are your powers?" Jenna asked.

"Well, it states here that if I dislike a certain person or object of some sort, I can shatter them from within and, eventually, be able to decide if I go so far as to kill them entirely. I can also possibly create fire that can be used to harm someone," Eli replied, the smirk never leaving his face. Wow, I never would have guessed Eli was the son of Hades. I mean, I guess it explains his dark side, but Hades? Come on, his father is _THE_ HADES. That's huge! I don't know why, but that fact seemed to make me even more attracted to him…

"That's it, your definitely the most powerful one of our house," said KC like he was trying to lay down a law or something.

"Well, we haven't heard who Remy's parent is yet," Alli pointed out, looking to Remy. All eyes turned to Remy's as we waited for her to tell us who she descended from.

"Um, well, I'm the daughter of Zeus, the God of the heavens," she said quietly, not making eye contact with any of us.

"… The King of the Gods…?" Drew said, almost like a whisper.

"Uh, yeah, that one," she said with a shy smile. She gave me the impression that she was modest, which I respected and instantly decided she was a good person. I don't know, there's just something about her. I began thinking Alli felt the same way, because when I turned to her she had a smile on her face as if to say, "Now this girl is a good person." Maybe it was the fact that she wasn't boasting about how she was the daughter of the almighty Zeus. Zeus for crying out loud! She couldn't be more powerful, but she was acting like she didn't want to make a big deal about it.

"What are your powers?" Fiona asked, with real interest in her voice.

"Well, um, I can control the weather and can control lightning especially, to the point of electrocuting anyone or thing," she said with an emotionless face.

"Holy shit… okay, I apologize in advance for ANYTHING I may do to anger you while we're living in the same house," Adam said, fear in his eyes.

Remy giggled, "Don't worry, though Zeus passed on his temper, I'm much better at handling it."

"So, does that make you my… cousin?" Eli said, looking a little confused.

"Yup. What's up, _cuz_?" Remy said smirking, earning a laugh from everyone.

"Wait… so none of us are related… but you two are?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah. After the generation of Hades, Zeus, Poseidon, and the rest of them were born, it was decided that to keep the Godly blood in the family, all blood relations should be removed to promote healthy fertility in all future children. But for that last generation, all the boys stayed related, and all the girls stay related. That's how Eli and I are still cousins," Remy informed everyone.

"Wow, how do you know all of this stuff?" Alli said, asking what we all were thinking.

"Um, it's a really long story," Remy said, rubbing the back of her neck and looking apologetic. "But I promise, I'll tell you guys everything tomorrow. I'm getting kind of… aaahhhh… tired," she said, yawning in the process.

And with that, everyone started heading towards their rooms for the night. As I was tucking myself into bed, I couldn't help but feel my heart beat a little faster thinking of all the adventures I was going to have here. But what really excited me, was the fact that sense of "right" when I thought of trusting that Remy was a good person. Hey, I guess the girl knows what she's talking about.

**Just so everyone knows, Remy is a GOOD character. As in, she isn't an antagonist. Trust me, throughout the story, you'll see why I need her in there. Reviews make me smile! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Woo-hoo! New chapter! Okay, in this one, things get a little tense in House 4. You'll see. ;)**

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" This was what acted as my wakeup-call the next morning. Personally, I recommend getting a regular alarm clock. Because the moment I heard that glass shattering scream, I jumped out of bed and hit my head on my dresser in the process. And the next thing I now, I hear stampeding boys coming up the girls staircase.

"What the hell is going on!" KC screamed to Jenna, Fiona, Remy, and me.

"Where is Alli? Shit! I can't open her door!" Drew yelled, jiggling the knob on Alli's door furiously.

All five boys worked together in ramming the door down, succeeding after the seventh hit, and storming through the door.

"Guys! Oh my goodness! Someone, please help me!" All screeched from the spot where she was taped on the wall. Fitz and Drew carefully removed the tape from Alli's hands and feet and lowered her down on the ground.

"Okay, everyone catch your bearings, and meet me downstairs in five minutes. There's a lot I need to tell you guys." Remy said, trying to calm everyone down.

By the time we all got downstairs, Remy set up ten pillows in a circle, similar to the one we sat in the night before. She looked distressed. Something told me that what she was about to tell us, was something a whole lot bigger than what we all bargained for when we decided to come here. We all took our seats on the pillows and looked to Remy to start the discussion.

"Okay, first, we need to discuss what exactly happened to Alli. Tell us everything you remember," Remy said gently to Alli, in hopes of keeping her from breaking down into tears.

"Well, I remember being woken by someone in a ski mask. They grabbed me by the shoulders and pinned me to the wall. I was about to yell out right then and there, but they held there hand to my mouth and said to me, 'You don't scream 'till I leave, got it? You pass on this message for me. From this point on, House 4 and House 3 are at war, y-yes?" Alli told us, starting to choke up.

"Ssh… it's okay Alli," Drew said, soothing her with his words while rubbing her back.

"Alli, I need to ask you one more question. Did you… did you see his eye color?" Remy asked tentatively.

"Y-yeah. Th-they were b-blue. Bright b-blue," Alli said shaky.

"That bastard…" Remy muttered under her breath.

"What do you know Remy," Eli said concerned. It's cute how he just found out yesterday that they are related, and already he feels protective of her. Can he be any more perfect?

Remy sighed. "Well, I'll start from the beginning I guess. I've known about my powers and the whole Olympians' world since I could talk. I know at least most of you probably were told that you were adopted correct?" Everyone nodded. "But in my case, my mom, my birth mom kept me and raised me for her own. And I don't know if it's because I just knew of this whole spiel at a young age or what, but I discovered my powers very young."

"How young were you?" I asked. I mean, I always thought that being 16 and discovering you had powers was a young age. But younger?

"I was about 4 years old," Remy confessed. Oh damn… that _is_ young.

"But anyway, since I was so young and already developing, the Gods were alerted immediately. You see, the younger you are when you first start the change, the more powerful you will eventually be. And the fact that I was four was apparently mind-blowing. So they summoned me to Mount Olympus. They wanted to understand my intentions… basically if I planned on trying to over though my father. And me being the four-year-old that I was obviously said no, which I still don't. But after I returned home, Zeus contacted my mother and told her, 'As Remy gets older, let her know about her two cousins, the sons of Poseidon and Hades," Remy said, stealing a glance at Eli, who's brows were furrowed in concern. "So that 'son of Hades' was apparently Eli, who I just met yesterday. But as for the song of Poseidon, well, let's just say that we've encountered before," she said, a look of pain on her face.

"What do you mean… _encountered_?" Adam asked.

"As it happens, he developed young as well. He was 5 when he began changing. We never really got along, often times we'd end up getting into heated arguments that sometimes…" she took a breath,"… escalated into dangerous fights," she said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

"Oh my gosh! How badly did you guys hurt each other?" Jenna asked, leaning closer.

"Well, at the time, we both only had the basic abilities. You know, the strength and speed and stuff. The most damage we've ever done to each other were broken bones. Thankfully, he moved to Toronto before we developed our specialties, otherwise we probably would have killed each other," Remy said, pained memories going through her mind.

Everyone was quiet, still. Nobody wanted to risk saying something inappropriate. Fiona was the first to say something.

"So… are you saying that he was the one that came in our house and… did that stuff to Alli?" Fiona spoke suddenly.

"About 99% sure, yeah. But I can't think that his motives would be to go after me. I mean, he's an angry kid, sure, but he's not stupid. He knows that if things get out of hand, lots of people could get hurt. And as far as I know, he doesn't even know I'm here," Remy responded.

"What are you thinking Remy? Tell us?" Fitz said, noticing the thoughtful look on Remy's face.

"Well, right before we all got here, to this camp, the city of Athens in Greece discovered several precious gem mines and other valuables that any God would find extremely fortunate to have. And long ago, when Athens was deciding who to appoint as it's deity, both Poseidon and Athena wanted the job. To try and prove themselves worthy, both offered a gift to the city. Poseidon offered water from a well he'd broken nearby. But it was saltwater, and not very useful for the time. But Athena planted an olive tree as a sign of peace and to provide a form of food. So naturally, Athena became the deity of Athens. But Poseidon was very angered by this decision, and from then on the two of them developed a hatred for the other. And now that Athens became a whole lot more valuable, Poseidon declared war on Athena. Zeus, Hades and the rest of them are trying to settle things before Poseidon attacks, but things are kind of up in the air right now."

"So, what are you saying? And what's Poseidon's son's name?" KC said all at once.

"His name is… Owen," Remy said straight-faced. Everyone gasped. Owen? Homophobe, Owen? From Degrassi? Oh good lord…

"And based on the history, these facts lead me to believe that," Remy paused, taking my hand in hers," that the person he is after is… Clare."

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I couldn't feel. Not Remy's hand in my left. Not everyone's eyes staring at me in shock. Not even Eli, holding me close to his chest while a silent tear slid down my face. I was in danger. A target. A target, of one of the most powerful Gods' son.

**Gah! Poor Clare! And don't worry, Eclare-ness is most definitely in the future. So, let me know what you think! I love hearing what you guys have to say. 3**


	5. Chapter 5

"Here," Alli said, handing me a glass of water. I couldn't believe this. Why me? Why must I be the target of this… this… beast? Hell, he taped Alli to a wall!

"What am I going to do? Everywhere I go, I'll think he's hiding behind the corner, waiting to jump me!" I screeched, partially to myself. "I have to leave. I have to get out of here," I said, starting to get out of my chair at the island in the kitchen.

"No," Fiona said, putting her hand on my shoulder to sit me back down. "We can't just let you live here in fear."

"Yeah, we'll… we'll protect you," KC said, trying to find the right words.

"Yes," Eli said, taking my hands in his, "We're going to make sure _nobody_ touches you. We'll all work together," he said as everyone nodded in agreement.

"I'm afraid it's not that simply guys," Remy spoke up. "Owen is very smart. He's not just going to roll over because we build a wall around Clare. And remember that he has the rest of his house on his side."

"Well… what do you recommend?" Jenna asked.

"Since there are always two people from each house in every class, we'll always have another of our own around. Because to make the matter all the more unfortunate… we are all in danger. If Owen can't get to Clare, we're all the next closest thing. So we all have to protect each other," Remy explained.

"How, do we know we're going to be able to handle whatever they throw at us?" Fiona said.

"I guess we'll just have to take it as it comes," Drew said with a sigh.

"I guess so," I said. This is going to get messy.

**(Later in the day)**

As it turns out, I had my first class, Greek Ceramics, with Jenna. And the walk up to the Studio couldn't have been more awkward. If a random stranger were to decide to walk with us, _they_ could sense the tension. That's it. I have to settle this once and for all.

"Hey Jenna?" I said, kind of tentatively.

"Yeah Clare?" Jenna said, turning to me looking alert. She must be shaken up about the whole Owen situation, too.

"Listen, I know what happened in the past is done with, but I'd like to just bury the hatchet of all the awkward feelings between us. I guess what I'm trying to say is… I'd like to try being friends again. Not just… roommates. Because with everything going on, I think that would be the best, especially if we're going to have to look out for each other," I said all at once. I admit, it felt good to get that out there, but I was anxious to hear what she had to say about it.

She just looked at me with a goofy grin on her face before saying, "Oh Clare! Yes, friendship would be great!" After saying that, we shared the first real hug together in the past year. "And just so you know, I really am sorry Clare. For everything. And I don't expect you to forgive me anytime soon, but I really appreciate the second chance at a friendship," she said, giving me a warm smile.

I gave her a smile of my own before linking arms with hers as we continued walking.

"So, uh… what the deal with you and Eli?" she asked, giving me a nudge and a playful smile.

"So far just friends," I said with a sigh. "I'm just afraid of the possibility that he doesn't like me back and our whole friendship falls apart, you know?

"Yeah, I get you. Maybe try and see if he likes you back first? You know, put yourself in situations that would force him to show his true feelings," she suggested.

"If only there was a way for that to happen here," I said, as we reached the Studio entrance.

"Don't give up just yet," Jenna said, pointing to a flyer on the door.

**Attention all descendents! Are you ready to party? Get ready!**

**Because this Friday is the opening festival!**

**Accommodations: **

**Food**

**Games**

**And more!**

*****Surprise Guest~ Aggie Chatzi (Daughter of Eros)******


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay guys! Next chapter! And thank you so much for the reviews! I love hearing everything you guys have to say! And those of you that commented about "Percy Jackson", I've actually never read the books. I was just always interested in Greek mythology. But I'll definitely look into reading the books during the summer (since reading them along with the stuff I have to read from my teachers would mess me up with remembering all the little annoying details of my school books). :)**

I was working on a worksheet about the Trojan War for Greek History class when I heard a knock on the door.

"You decent?" Adam said, walking in with one hand over his eyes and the other moving around in front of him to make sure he didn't bump into anything.

"Yes Adam, I'm fully clothed," I answered with a chuckle.

"Good, what are you working on?" he asked, peeking at the paper in my lap.

"Just some homework on the Trojan War. Did you know that it all started because of something Fitz's mom did?" I responded.

"Ha! No kidding! Come on, Fi's making dinner downstairs. Lasagna!" he exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in happiness.

"Alright," I said, putting the finishing touches on my paper, "Let's go Garfield," I joked.

Once we got downstairs, everyone had found their seat in the kitchen. It was pretty funny actually. They were all staring at the lasagna Fiona just pulled out of the oven, their mouths watering shamelessly.

"You guys look like a bunch of hungry puppies," I said with a playful smile.

"Can you blame us? Just look at that thing! It has so many layers!" KC said, gapping at the filled pan.

"Order's up!" Fiona said, putting the last of ten plates with perfect squares of lasagna on the table.

"So, did everyone hear about the festival tomorrow?" Jenna asked, taking her seat.

"Ooh! I saw the flyer this afternoon! I can't wait! The daughter of Eros is going to be there!" Alli squealed, sneaking a peak at Drew.

"What exactly is she going to do though? Just mingle?" Fitz asked honestly.

"She'll probably perform love readings for everyone," Remy said with a mouth full of the meat and cheese.

Jenna and I shared a knowing glance at each other. Once I turned back to my plate, I felt a pair of eyes staring at me. I looked up across the table and met Eli's jade-green eyes. I could just stare at him all day. The way he makes me feel, safe, cared for, _and pretty_… He's the only person who has held this much of my heart. I just stared back at him, smiling. He smiled back at me and winked before returning his attention to his food.

"It's impolite to stare you know," Alli whispered in next to me, grinning.

"Oh please, Alli. Talk to me about that once you and Drew stop undressing each other with your eyes," I said, giving her a grin of my own. She just laughed at me, knowing I was joking.

As I sat there, eating my lasagna, watching everyone eat and talk and laugh together, I felt that we really have become a family. We live together, eat together, hang out together, protect each other, _and care about each other_… It really was a sight that could make your heart swell.

After dinner was finished, we all went upstairs to get into our pajamas. I was rummaging through my drawers for maybe five whole minutes before I found what I was looking for. My soft, old, navy blue t-shirt with a snow owl on the front and a pair of plain black booty shorts. I've had this shirt since I was a little girl, when it hung on me like a dress. The snow owl on the front reminded me of my mother. _I wish I could meet her… _

I was the last one to get downstairs, and once I got there, I saw the current seating arrangements. On one couch sat Alli and Drew snuggling and baby talking each other. Over to the other side of the room were KC and Jenna, laughing about something KC did earlier in his Defense Skills class. Then there was Adam and Fiona on the far couch, playing cat's cradle…or attempting to anyway. Adam kept fumbling with the string. And Remy was laying across the whole length of another couch talking to Fitz, who was sprawled across the couch next to her. That's when I saw him. Eli was sitting on a chair that had a fluffy red blanket draped across the back. It was pretty wide. He must have been watching me the whole time, because once my eyes me his, he glared at me playfully, pointed at me before moving his finger in a way that beckoned me to him.

"Yes?" I asked innocently once I got to where he was sitting, his legs wide open.

"Care to take a seat?" He asked casually.

I only looked at him. Was he really suggesting that I sit… in his lap?

"Here?" I said, pointing at his lap, jerking my eyebrow up.

"Well, do you see any other place to sit?" He asked smirking wickedly.

"Um, uh…" I started to say before I felt his hand on my lower back. I whipped my head back around to him. But before I could say anything, he had me held in his arms bridal style. He lowered me gently down into the space between his legs, succeeding in making me blush like a sunburned tomato.

"Now was that so hard?" he said, a smirk forming on his perfect face.

"Uh, uh, let's just watch the movie," I stuttered, turning my face toward the TV screen so he wouldn't see the smile pulling at my lips.

"Whatever you say Edwards," he said with a light laugh.

I couldn't believe it. I was sitting in Eli Goldsworthy's lap. _His lap_. And he was so warm. So soft. So inviting. And he smelled like manly musk. The way his calm breathes would make his chest rise up and down. It relaxed me to the point that I began getting sleepier and sleepier. I felt myself start to dose off, my head on Eli's chest, but not before I felt Eli's soft lips touch my forehead. The last thing I heard was Eli' s husky voice saying, "Sleep well, Blue Eyes."

**Gah! Oh, the Eclare-ness! So what did you think? Let me know! And no, I'm not planning on making Fitz and Remy a couple. I have someone else in mind for Fitz. But what would you guys say about me finding someone for Remy, eh?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Are you ready for this next chapter? Well hold onto your socks lady and gentlemen! I decided that, since I was so happy with the reviews you all gave me, I would write a longer chapter for you guys, just cause I love 'ya! And on my profile page, I put pictures of the girls outfits for the Opening Festival. Yes! Opening Festival! Get excited! I also put a Youtube link at the bottom of the page. It's of happy Greek music, in case you wanted to hear what was playing in my head when I was writing the part of when they all go out. Okay, enjoy you guys!**

The next morning, I woke up to my clothes being thrown about my room. How I knew they were being thrown around you ask? Well, you see… a pair of my underwear landed on my face…

"_What_ are you guys doing?" I said, confused as to why Alli, Jenna, Remy, and Fiona were digging through my drawers.

"Trying to find you something to wear for tonight," Alli said, her head deep in my underwear drawer.

"Guys… the festival is _tonight_. We have the rest of the day to find me something to wear. And why would I need specific underwear?" I said, a little exasperated.

"Because when a woman is wearing sexy underwear, she feels sexier and more confident. It's a fact," Fiona said, looking over my closet with great care.

"And since I volunteered to make a dessert for the festival, which you are all helping me with by the way," Remy said, pointing at all of us and glaring playfully, "We won't have time this afternoon."

"Yeah, thank goodness we don't have classes today. All the more time to become _fabulous, darling_," Jenna said, in a ridiculous but humorous accent.

I sighed. This day was going to be very eventful.

"Alright, alright," I said, sitting up in bed and rubbing my eyes. "What are you—

I mean, _we_, making for the festival?" I asked Remy.

"Oh! The most mouth-watering Greek dessert ever! Baklava!" she said, jumping with excitement.

"…What's baklava?" we all said at the same time. Remy just gapped at us.

"You've never had BAKLAVA?" she exclaimed in pure horror. "Then you guys are most definitely having the first piece!" she said, turning back to my top drawer. "Never had baklava…" she continued, mumbling to herself.

I just laughed and shook my head. How good could this baklava be?

**(Later)**

Very good. VERY good. I dub thee, baklava, my new favorite food! After three hours, yes three hours, of going over outfit options, we finally made it downstairs to make the food. And as predicted, the boys came down stairs as the smell of the sweet, phyllo dough treasure swept through the whole house.

"What's cookin' good lookin'?" KC said, walking up to Jenna and hugging her from behind.

"Yeah, I smell food!" Drew said, coming into the kitchen and giving Alli a peck on the cheek. I guess they were official now?

"It's baklava!" Remy said happily, shoving a small plate of it in Adam's face as he walked in, looking bug-eyed at the dish.

"Is it good?" Fitz asked, squatting down so his eyes were level with the cooling rack holding the dessert on the table.

"It's officially the best thing ever…" I said, dreamily looking at the smallish piece of it left on my plate.

Just then, Eli came in looking adorable as ever, his eyes looked a little sleepy, and he had a slight bed-head. He came over to where I was sitting and leaned on the counter-space next to me.

"Want some?" I asked, offering my last bite of baklava.

He didn't say anything. He just looked at me with a devious smirk and opened his mouth. Was he expecting me to _feed_ him?

"You want me to feed you?" I asked, a look of disbelief on my face.

He just lowered his head and looked up at me with big eyes, pouting. Oh! He looked so cute! How could I say no?

"Ugh, fine," I said, rolling my eyes and bringing my fork up to his mouth.

He smiled triumphantly as he let the piece of baklava enter his mouth. Once it was in, he closed down, firm. He watched my face intently as I slowly pulled out my fork.

"Um, uh, do you like it?" I asked quietly.

He just nodded, a slow smile creeping up his face. It felt like we were staring into each other's souls.

"Clare! Hello? Clare!" Jenna was saying over and over.

"Huh?" I said moronically. Wow… that was embarrassing. Eli must have found the whole stare-off amusing, because when I looked back at him, he was shaking his head, chuckling to himself.

"_I said_, could you pass me your plate? We have to clean the dishes and start getting ready," Jenna explained.

"Oh, right. Here you go," I said sheepishly, handing her my plate.

"Hey, do you guys no how we're supposed to dress?" Fitz said, closing the fridge, a cup of yogurt in hand.

"Casual but still put together. Oh, that reminds me, the counselor's are probably going to open the portal to the market and village this weekend, and we need more yogurt," Remy said, putting the last of the dishes away. "Okay! Dishes are done… let's go get ready!" she said, adding effect by extending her arm in front of her with a pointed finger while pretending to march up the stairs. That girl was so goofy…

**(Later)**

As I was putting the finishing touches on my light-brown, smoky-eye-look, I heard my door slowly open.

"Hey Clare," Fiona said warmly, walking into my room. "Wow… you look really pretty Clare! Damn, we did a good job!" she said, laughing at herself.

"Thanks Fi," I said fluffing my curls a little.

"But you know what would make it beautiful?" Fiona asked me, her hands behind her back.

"What…?" I said curiously.

"This," she said, pulling out a diamond encrusted necklace of a cross.

"Fiona, this is gorgeous!" I exclaimed. And it truly was. The way it shined in the light, it was enough to take your breath away.

"And it's yours for the night," she said, spinning me around to put the necklace around my neck.

"Fiona, I can't thank you enough! This is so sweet of you!" I said breathlessly.

"Don't mention it. Just thought it would be perfect with your outfit. And, so that Eli knows you pure when his mind goes all kinds of dirty once he sees you," she said with a smirk.

"Fiona!" I said with wide eyes. "We're still just friends. Hopefully tonight I'm going to see if he feels more."

"I know. I know. But remember, the moment you two separate from your first steamy make out session, the girls and I are the first to know, got it?" she said, giving me a serious look.

"Got it Fi. And thank you again," I said, smiling down at the necklace.

"No problem. Now get your pretty ass downstairs," she said, leaving the room.

I have to say, I was feeling pretty good. Within those three hours this morning, we settled on a soft pink dress with black lace detail, black stockings, and a pair of Alli's black pumps. I was even wearing a pair of white, lacy boy-shorts under my stockings. If I may say so, I feel hell-a sexy!

As I walked down the spiral staircase, I got a good look at what everyone else was wearing. Jenna had on a pair of black jeggings, some cowboy boots, and a wool, patterned poncho. Alli had on an off-white, cinched dress with a khaki knit cardigan on top, paired with a pair of soft black heels. As for Remy, she was wearing a pair of grey skinnies, a maroon camisole with a denim vest on top, brown booties, and a layered necklace. And Fiona, being the wealthy girl she is, just happened to have an outfit from off the runway in her closet. She was wearing a gold sequined top with plain white pants, and gold ballet flats. I had to admit… we were looking good. And as for the boys, they were all wearing similar dark-wash jeans, except for Eli, who was wearing black skinnies. Both Adam and Drew were wearing polo shirts. Drew in a blue one, and Adam in a green one. Fitz, KC, and Eli were wearing un-tucked button-downs, instead. Fitz's was white and open with a navy t-shirt on the inside, and KC's was black with a dark-green t-shirt inside. But Eli's shirt, on the other hand, was by itself, no t-shirt underneath. And it was buttoned up with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows. Maybe it was because it was buttoned, but his shirt seemed to hug his muscular build with such ease. And the way it fitted him just right made his broad shoulders look even more defined. But to make him look all the more perfect, the color of his shirt was basically the same pale pink as my dress. He must have noticed me staring, because he walked right up to me, a smirk making a home on his face, leaned in close, and whispered, "You look… beautiful."

That sent little sparks flying through my body. What was this boy doing to me? It's like he knew what he did to me! Well… two can play at that game. "You don't look so bad yourself," I said in my best husky voice, putting my hand on his chest, letting it linger there for a brief second as I started to walk around him over to Remy. Halfway to Remy, I looked over my shoulder back at Eli, and saw his face. It was a mixture of shock and amusement. Haha! That should keep him thinking for a few minutes!

"Hey," Remy said smiling at me. "How are things going with 'Mission E'?"

"Oh, they're going somewhere," I said with a small smirk, making her laugh.

"Alright, let's go!" Alli said, jumping up from her spot on the couch.

Once we were all out the door, I could automatically here the Greek music coming from the festival. We walked past all the houses and the nurse's station before we arrived at the field where everything was set up. As we got closer, I could make out little booths with several types of food and treats. There were also some game stations, you know, the ones where if you knock over a tower of milk bottles you get a stuffed animal. Games like that. But in the far back of the field was a medium sized tent. It looked as if the texture of it was a sort of dark-pink velvet, and it had red trim around it. There some sort of light radiating out of it, so someone was obviously in there. And that's when _she_ came out.

She had fiery-red hair and bright, hazel eyes. She was wearing a burnt-orange colored dress that resembled somewhat of a toga. She must have just stepped outside for some fresh air, because once our eyes locked, she gave me a smile, almost as if she knew something I didn't, and went back inside her tent.

"I'm going to go bring this to the food tables," Remy said, motioning to the baklava in her hands. We all nodded as she walked away.

"Well, if it isn't Miss Clare Edwards? I was wondering when I'd finally get to see you, in the flesh…" someone said in a dark tone.

We all whipped around to come face to face with the last person I wanted to see, Owen.

"What do you want Owen?" Drew said, putting his arm around Alli, who was wide-eyed, just like me.

"What? Can't a guy say hi to his fellow peers?" Owen asked, plastering an innocent look on his face.

"Listen, lard-ass, why don't you just run along and go put a condom on your head. Because if you're going to act like a dick, you might as well dress like one," Fitz said next to me boldly.

"What did you say to me shit-face?" Owen said, getting noticeably angrier.

"You heard him," Eli said, grabbing my hand.

"You sure you want to say that?" Owen said, never taking his eyes off of me. That's when I noticed his hand, tense, facing a barrel of saltwater. The barrel began shaking, and looked like it was going to implode at any second. Everyone else must have seen him start doing this too, because in our little huddle, I could feel everyone tense up.

Just as I was sure the over-sized barrel was about to explode all over us, a bolt of light struck Owen's hand. It made a "zap" sound, and made him hiss out loud in pain. He quickly grabbed his hand, rubbing it, resulting in the barrel to calm down.

"Only one person could do that…" he mumbled to himself, looking around frantically.

"Long time no see, isn't it?" Remy said, walking up to Owen from behind him, a look of pure disgust on her face.

"Ahh… Remy, don't we look all grown-up?" Owen said, sarcasm dripping form his voice.

"Yeah, and you look like a professional blind date. Listen, you and I both know that there are too many people here to see anything you could do. So why don't you just give it up for the night and leave us alone, please?" she said, careful with her words as she looked at him seriously.

Owen growled. "Fine," he finally said through clenched teeth, realizing that she had a point. "But don't think I'm done with you, sweetheart. If you thought this was scary, you've got another thing coming," he said, turning around to look straight at me before walking away. I would have fainted right there if Eli hadn't squeezed my hand in reassurance.

"Are you okay?" Remy said, walking up to me, putting her hand on my shoulder.

"Yeah… I-I think so," I said shakily. Eli comforted me by hugging me close to his chest with one arm, his other hand still holding mine. Remy just nodded understanding.

"That… was… so… bad-ass!" Adam said, a look of amazement on his face. "He was all like, 'I'm going to explode this barrel!", and you were all like, 'I don't think so! Zap!'"

He was so adorable that way. He could lighten the mood without even trying. We all just laughed at his comments before we made sure we were all okay and separating to check out the festival. Drew and Alli went over to one of the games because, apparently, Alli just _had_ to have one of those stuffed bears. Jenna and KC went over to a cart selling patterned, silk scarves. Fiona and Adam went over to the food station to go marvel at all the possibilities. Fitz said he saw some old friends from Degrassi and went over to catch up, and Remy… I don't know where Remy went…. Hmm?

"Want to walk around," Eli said to me once everyone had gone. His hands were shoved in his pockets now, and he looked a little distressed.

"Yeah, I think a walk would be good right about now," I said with a small laugh, as were walked through the field of bustling activity.

"Hey, uh, remember that one video project for Ms. Dawes' class?" Eli asked, after walking for a few minutes in comfortable silence.

"Uh, y-yeah, what about it?" I stuttered. Remember it? Hell, I fantasized about it for two months after it happened! We were supposed to make a video of a reenactment of the kissing scene from Romeo and Juliet. Sure, the kiss lasted for about three seconds, but it was the best kiss I've ever had. It was soft and sweet, yet meaningful all at the same time.

"Um, uh, what did you, uh, think about it?" he said sheepishly.

"Uh… what did _you_ think about it?" I asked, unsure of what else to say.

"Um… oh hey look!" he said suddenly once we made it to the back of the field, right next to the velvet tent.

"Want to go in?" he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Sure," I said with a smile and a small chuckle. _Anything_ to get out of that awkward conversation.

When we walked through the regal curtain, we entered a small space with a very romantic feel. The inside of the tent created for light pink walls that were darkened, yet glowed orange with the candles burning in the center of the room. There were pillows with red and brown patterns everywhere, and straight in front of us, was her, Aggie Chatzi, daughter of Eros (God of love and passion). She was maybe in her mid-fifties, but still very stunning.

"Come in children. Take a seat," she said in an enchanting voice, motioning to two pillows in front of her.

Eli and I obliged, sitting in front of the multiple vanilla-scented candles, and just stared at Aggie on the other side of them.

"So, you come in here to see the potential of your love, yes?" she asked, but with a tone as if she was expecting us to agree.

"Oh, um, uh…" Eli and I fumbled for our words, but quickly closed our mouths when she put her hand up silencing us.

"I see very much for you two. Yes… very, _very_ much. Even sitting here right now, there is so much… _sexual tension_," she said slowly, making Eli and I freeze in our sitting positions, watching for the next thing she would say.

"Your love for each other has no limits. And even if it is not strong enough to be called love now… it will happen. It will…" she said, her brows furrowed in concentration as she was trying to gather more information. "But your love will be expressed as a result of… of… an epic battle… yes!... a battle… which will bring out your true feelings for each other," she said, sighing triumphantly.

We just stared at her. Neither of us wanted to look at the other first. I mean, what would _you_ do if you were put that situation? So, I decided to bolt…

"Um, uh, thank you, Miss Aggie," I said all at once as I rushed out of there. That was so overwhelming. She flat out said that Eli and I would eventually _love_ each other! Love! And she got that all from just looking at us.

"Clare! Clare, wait up!" Eli said, running to where I was standing. It had gotten dark outside, but not too dark that I couldn't see his features. His eyes looked so concerned, so confused…

"Listen Eli, you don't have to. You don't have to tell me that what she just said must be some wacky jumbo because you don't like me, but just so you know, I want to stay friends, even though it may be awkward, well, maybe not as awkward as that just—"

I stopped talking when I felt his palms cup my face, forcing me to look at him. He looked at me with… was that… adoration in his eyes?

"Clare, please, just listen to me. I like you. _I really like you_. So much it scares me. It scares me to think that I could have gone another moment where you weren't mine. It scares me to think that I wouldn't be able to share another kiss with you. Please, please be mine Clare. Please…" he said, out of breath as he leaned his forehead on mine, staring into my eyes.

I couldn't believe it. This, this boy. This beautiful boy, whom I cared for, for so long, held the same feelings for me. I was floating. I was in pure bliss.

"Say something Clare," he said quietly, pleading with his eyes.

"Yes…" I said breathlessly.

The moment I answered him, his lips were on mine, hungrily. This kiss was nothing like the one we had for Ms. Dawes' project. No, this one was filled with… passion… and care. This one sent chills up and down my spine and through my toes. This one had me seeing stars. I felt like I was on a "love high". After kissing in the middle of everything for what felt like hours, I felt a few droplets of water fall on my face. I broke the kiss to look up at the sky, only to find the beginning of rainfall.

"Care for a ride my lady?" Eli asked me, a goofy smile on his face.

I just nodded, returning a goofy smile of my own. So, I hopped on top of him as he began giving me a piggy-back-ride out of the rain and in the direction of our house. Everyone was running around trying to get back to their houses and out of the rain, but even though there was chaos around us, we were laughing like the giggly fools we were. Just as we were about to leave the fields and enter the strip of houses at the camp, I saw Aggie, walking back to where ever she was staying tonight. And when she turned around and saw me on Eli's back, laughing hysterically, she gave me that same knowing smile and winked at me before continued walking.

**Oh, Eclare! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, so please review! Eli's begging you with his puppy dog eyes to review! ;) And just to leave you with something to think about before I update later this week, where did Remy run off to? Hmm...**

**Music: (youtube).com/watch?v=4FRezijURBw&feature=related**


	8. Chapter 8

**Alrighty, here's a short-ish chapter for you guys, just to keep the story going. Trust me, the next chapter will be longer. And thank you guys so much for the reviews! I like knowing people read and enjoy my story. :) **

By the time Eli and I got back to the house, we were soaking wet form the rain. Once we reached the door, he squatted down so I could easily get off his back.

"You ready?" he asked me, looking nervous.

"Yeah, why?" I said, kind of confused. What could he be nervous about?

"Well, it's just… the guys were kind of pushing me to make a move with you, and now that we're together, they might… explode confetti or something…" he said, smiling shyly.

"Yeah, the girls were pushing me too. Don't worry, we'll handle it together," I said, smiling up at him and grabbing his hand.

"Well… here goes nothing…" he said, pushing the door open. We tried to make our entrance as quiet as possible, but not even two steps into the house, Alli spotted us from her doorway.

"Ahh! Clare! Guys, Clare and Eli are here! It happened!" she squealed, running down the stairs. And just like that, everyone ended up downstairs.

"Hey, congrats man," KC said, slapping Eli on the back.

"Yeah, dude, it's about time," Adam said, walking over to Eli, performing their special handshake.

"EEEeehh! Okay, Clare, we're going to have to have to pull you away from your new man, because you are telling us _everything_!" Jenna squeaked, pulling all the girls upstairs.

"Okay, spill," Fiona said, all of us sitting on the floor in the middle of her room.

"Guys, I promise, I will tell you every last detail, but first… could I please shower? This lacy underwear is sexy and all, but when it's sticking to all the wrong places from the gallons of water it's now holding from the rain, it's just… uncomfortable," I admitted, getting red in the face.

"Alright, alright… go shower. But make it a quick one! Cause I need details, and I need them now!" Alli said, laughing at my discomfort.

And that being said, I sprinted into my room to get my pajamas and headed towards the bathroom. I quickly stripped myself of my now sodden clothes, and started the water for a bath. As I waited for the tub to fill, I took a look at my face in the mirror. I hadn't bothered to take my makeup off yet, I'll probably just do it right before I go to bed, but when I say that my face was glowing, I mean it was fricken' radiating! And I couldn't stop smiling! What was going on? I tried tugging at my mouth, but every time I let go, the corners would just pop right up again. But once I saw that the tub was just about full, I put an end to my ridiculous facial contortions, and dipped my hand in the water.

"Gah!" I hissed out in pain. The water was scorching! I quickly grabbed my towel off the rack, wrapped it around myself, and headed downstairs.

"Guys! Something's wrong with my water!" I said in a panicked tone. Everyone was just hanging out downstairs watching TV. And Remy was there too… when did she get here? She wasn't here when Eli and I walked in…

"Clare? What are you doing… in just a towel?" Eli said, starting to blush.

"I was running the bath, and I reached my hand in to test the temperature, and I burned my fingers!" I said, holding up my hand in evidence. That was all I needed to say before all five guys started up the stairs toward my bathroom.

"Are you sure you didn't just accidentally put the hot water on all the way?" Fiona asked, now that only the girls were downstairs.

"Positive. I checked once I burned myself. Uh, Remy… where were you?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Oh, uh… I was… hanging out with someone…" she said, blushing and not making eye contact.

"She met a boy!" Jenna said suddenly, banging on the armrest of her chair.

Remy didn't even respond. She just looked up and smiled shyly, causing us all to squeal and jump up and down.

"Okay, once Clare showers, we are _so_ having a girl meeting," Alli declared. Just then, the boys came back downstairs.

"Well, it seems that nothing's wrong with the piping or anything… but…" Fitz started to say, but getting at loss of words.

"But…?" I said, gesturing my hands for him to keep going.

"Based on what I learned in class about chants and stuff that the Gods do, we think that your water in the bathroom had been cursed," Drew finished for him.

"What? Who would curse my water?" I said, but then suddenly realized the exact person who would have the motive.

"Does Owen really think boiling my water will do anything?" I asked frustrated.

"He's just trying to start something," Remy said, shaking her head.

"Well we've got to do something. He's going to drive us to leave in fear!" Eli said, walking over to me, pulling me close by my waist. He never did like being bullied…

"Listen to me, if you retaliate, he could really blow up in our faces," Remy warned.

"I don't care. He can't get away with this," Eli said through clenched teeth.

Remy just sighed. "Alright, but consider yourself warned," she said, but looking as if she expected him to react this way. Based on her stories of how she and Owen used to fight, it seems as if all three of them react to bullies the same way, so I guess she could relate to how he was feeling.

"What are you going to do?" I asked Eli, once everyonewent back to watching TV.

"I don't know. But, what I _do_ know, is that you'll be taking showers in my bathroom from now on," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

I just laughed at him and went to get my stuff. Boys… they could be such pervs…

**What? Huh? Eli's going to fight back? Remy's got herself a man? Clare's going to take showers in Eli's bathroom from now on? What? Haha! Well, there ya go! Something to ponder about before my next chapter (which will be longer!) Now, here's a little spoiler for you guys: Remy's new boo will be vital to the survival of one of the members of House 4! Ahh! Mkay, I'll update tomorrow! Review please! :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay, this came out a lot shorter than I expected, but anyway... here it is! Not much drama as much as just adding information to the story. Next chapter will be more exciting I promise! And my apologies for not updated at all yesterday! I had to attend to some best-friend-duties, which kind of ate up my time. :/**

As I grabbed my pajamas and soaps from out of my bathroom to bring into Eli's to shower, I began thinking about this _plan_ of his. Knowing him, he would most likely do something highly irritating, but in the long run, not very harmful. But whatever it is… I really hope Remy's wrong and it won't end up backfiring.

Once I opened the door to Eli's bathroom, I took a good long look at everything. I don't know what I was expecting, but it looked like an ordinary bathroom. The only differences from mine were the products. I most certainly _do not_ have after-shave in my bathroom, thank you very much! So, I stepped into the, warm, water-filled tub and did my business. Fifteen minutes later, I was out of the bathroom, hair-dried, make up-removed, and pajama-clad. Everyone was sitting in the same seats as the night before, so I walked over to Eli, sitting in the over-sized chair. I stood right in front of his knees, spread his legs apart, turned around, and sat my butt down in the space between his legs.

"You know, you could have just asked," Eli whispered in my ear, pulling his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder. That made me relax into his chest as I put my own arms over his. I felt so… _at peace_… when I was in his arms.

"Aye! Don't think I forgot about you missy!" Alli said, noticing that I was out of the bathroom.

"Yeah! How'd it happen?" Drew said, sitting next to Alli, his arm around her shoulder.

I looked behind me at Eli to signal him to start. He just nodded and began speaking.

"Well, after the encounter with Owen, Clare and I just went for a walk. That's when we found this tent in the back of the festival. That's when we saw Aggie Chatzi," he began.

"Wait, you guys actually saw Aggie Chatzi?" KC asked, leaning his forearms on his knees.

"Yeah, she was really… straightforward…" Eli said, looking at me as if we were sharing a personal secret.

"Well… what did she say?" Fiona said, getting excited.

"Basically, she said that our love, once it gets to that point, has no limits," Eli said, squeezing his arms around my waist a little.

"And that our love will be professed as a result of an… epic battle did she say?" I said, giving Eli a questioning look.

"Yeah… I don't know what she meant by that…" Eli said, looking confused.

"Ha! Did she really say 'epic battle'?" Adam said, laughing to himself.

"Yup. Exact words," I said, laughing with him. "But anyway, it was our meet with her that led to the us actually letting our feelings out."

We all sat there in silence for a few minutes longer, just enjoying each other's company.

"So, Remy… tell us about your new… _friend_," Fiona teased, a smirk on her face.

"Uhh… _Fiona_!" Remy whined, pulling her knees to her chest and hiding her face.

"Friend?" KC said, amusement on his face, as well as everyone else's.

She sighed heavily before lifting her head and saying, "Alright, go ahead. Ask away."

"What's his name?"

"Gabe."

"Who's his parent?"

"Hygeia"

"God of?"

"Goddess, of good health."

"What does he look like."

"He's got light brown hair, green eyes, and slightly tan skin."

"So… he's got hair like KC, eyes like Eli, and skin like Drew," Adam said, looking off into the distance, trying to fathom the description.

"Well… that's kind of weird… but whatever paints the picture I guess," Remy said, laughing lightly.

"Aww! That such good news Rem!" I said, truly happy for her.

"Alright, now it's our turn to ask the question," Drew said, referring to him and the guys.

"Um, okay?" Remy replied nervously.

"Home life?"

"Lived with his mom."

"Gentleman or bad-boy?"

Gentleman!"

"Does he treat your right?"

"Yeeeeeeessssss."

"Alright, but we have to meet him soon," Eli declared, looking at her seriously.

Remy groaned. "You guys aren't going to scare him are you?"

"Hey, we don't scare! We simply intimidate for the wellbeing of others," KC said, smiling and pinching her cheek.

"Yeah, yeah. Just try to keep the grilling to a minimum, okay? Please?" she said, looking serious.

The guys just murmured their "yeses" before Jenna asked, "So which house is he in?"

Remy gulped before quietly saying, "…three…"

"He's in House 3?" everyone shrieked.

"Yes, but is completely on our side! Trust me! He hates Owen," she said, trying to reassure us.

"Well… Bianca is in House 3, too…" Fitz said quietly.

"Bianca? Dude… you and Bianca?" Adam questioned.

"Actually yeah. We hung out at the festival and… yeah, everything just kind of happened," he said, using his hands to represent an explosion.

"Who's her parent?" Remy asked, relieved that the attention was off of her and Gabe.

"Circe, goddess of magic and sorcery," he replied.

We all just sat there, not sure what to say.

"Well… does she like Owen?" I said suddenly.

"Not really. She said only like, half of their House actually like him," Fitz said, laughing at the odds.

"Well, that's just less to worry about," I said, getting up from Eli's lap and stretching like a cat.

"You going to bed?" he asked me.

"Yup, today was pretty tiring," I said, adding a yawn for affect.

Maybe it was because I was the first to say something, but once I left to go to bed, I heard everyone else downstairs retire to their rooms as well. It didn't take long before I felt my thoughts merge into dreams.

**Ta da! Yeah... not to eventful, I know. But it will get better! Trust me! Reviews! They make the world go 'round! :)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi guys! Let me start by saying I'm SSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry for such a late update. In a nutshell, I had some health complications the past few day. But no worries, I'm all better! Nothing some bed rest and medicine can't fix! Anyway, this chapter could get a little heavy emotionally, so be prepared. ;)**

I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. It was Saturday, which meant two more days without class. Our schedules for the CG went like this: two, hour and a-half-long classes from Monday through Thursday, and Fridays through Sundays were considered our weekend. I personally preferred this to the schedules we had at Degrassi.

When I went downstairs, I found Alli and Jenna in the lobby, gushing about each other advancing in their powers. Alli is now able to fly at up to 50 mph. And Jenna can transform anything or anyone to make them appear more appealing to the eye. Come to think of it, we've all advanced on our powers. KC can now grow almost anything in any type of soil. Adam can bring peace to minor problems. Fitz can create conflicts between any two people. Drew's military skills are extraordinary (seriously, he won every game of Monopoly, Battleship, you name it!). Fiona can already play eight instruments and sing impeccably well. Eli can create small fires from absolutely nothing. Remy's powers were already pretty advanced since I met her, and me… I can turn myself invisible and know when something's right or wrong, just by how I'm feeling. But what interests me the most about my invisibility skills, are that when I turn invisible, nobody but I can see me. And invisible objects form a sort of halo on the outline of their body or builds.

"Hey Clare! Come take a look at this!" Jenna squealed when she saw me come down the stairs. She rushed over to me, stuck a finger in my face, and held her fingernail maybe three inched from my eyes.

"Look at my nail! Look at my nail!" she said, jumping up and down. It looked like an ordinary nail.

"Um… cool?" I said, confused.

"No, no! Keep watching!" she said, continuing her jumping pattern.

Pretty soon, her once normal fingernail turned a soft shade of pink. It grew to a square shape on the edge, and a white line on the tip slowly emerged. My gosh… she gave herself a French tip!

"Holy whoa!" I said, bug-eyed. This was enough for Jenna and Alli, who was now standing next to Jenna, to start another round of a jumping fit.

"Okay guys, calm down. And Jenna, congratulations on your new power," I said with a chuckle and a smile. After she thanked me and went to work on the rest of her nails, I walked into the kitchen to make myself some breakfast.

"Hey guys," I said, seeing KC, Drew, Fitz, and Adam in the kitchen.

"Hey," they replied in unison with mouths filled with cereal.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked, popping a bagel into the toaster.

"Fiona and Remy are playing pool in the training room, and as far as I know, Eli isn't awake yet," Adam answered smoothly.

"Yeah, before I came down, I went into his room to see if he was awake and he was sleeping like a log," KC said, crunching down on his Cheerios.

"Ha! I'm going to go and try to wake him up," I said, laughing and starting toward the boys' staircase.

Once I go to Eli's door, I began my process of waking him up. I quieted my steps and soundlessly opened his door just wide enough for me to slip in. I tiptoed over to the edge of his bed, and just stared at him. He looked so peaceful… so beautiful. His dark brown locks hung loose and messy on his head. His stunning green-eyes were lidded, but his long eyelashes created a fan over the tops of his cheeks. His lips were slightly parted and his limbs were strewn about all over. My eyes darted down to his stomach, which was fully exposed due to his shirt having ridden up in his sleep. I grazed my fingers lightly over his toned tummy to see what would happen. He twitched under my touch and turned his head to face the wall, causing me to stifle a laugh.

Remembering what I was supposed to be doing, I slowly and gently crawled onto his bed and straddled his torso. I put my hands on either side of his head and lowered my face until it was inches away from his. I sucked in a silent breath, and blew lightly on his closed eyes. His brows furrowed for a quick second before his eyes slowly fluttered open. Once he realized it was only me, a warm smile took over his face.

"I'd like to wake up to you every morning," he said to me, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Stop that!" I said, laughing and lightly punching his arm. He just laughed along with me until he started to look around. It didn't take him too long to notice the position I was in, and when he did, he got a mischievous look on his face. He quickly sprung his upper body up, causing me to start to fall backward. In an attempt to stay balanced, I held my arms around his neck. At the same time, Eli's arms enveloped across my waist and landed on my lower back, bringing me so close to him, both of our whole upper-bodies were touching. I know I must have blushed, because he only smirked at me before leaning in for a sweet, innocent kiss.

"Come on," I said, biting my lip and smiling, "Let's go eat breakfast."

He just nodded in agreement and followed me downstairs.

"Look! He's alive!" Fitz joked once we got into the kitchen.

"Yeah, yeah. Only because this one decided to wake me up by attempting rape," Eli joked, pointing his thumb at me.

"Did not! I just used friendly persuasion…" I said, sneaking a flirty grin at him.

"Suuurrreee…" he said, grinning back at me while opening the refrigerator. "Damn! We're out of practically everything in here!" he said, letting out a huff of frustration.

"Here, what's mine is yours," I said, handing him half of my bagel from before. He graciously accepted, taking a seat next to me at the island in the kitchen. "Remy said the portal would be opened today. Why don't we all take a night on the town to hang out and get some food?" I suggested. "We could all go. And Fitz, you could bring Bianca."

"I'll go call her," he said with a smile before running up to his room.

"What about Remy?" Drew said, looking to me for the answer.

"I could try to convince her to bring Gabe. She seems pretty shy about the subject though," I said honesty.

"Well, if we're all going to be there, wouldn't that make it less awkward for her? You could use that for persuasion," Adam suggested, sipping on his cup of milk.

"Eh… I'll try it," I said, shrugging my shoulders and walking toward the gym area where Remy and Fiona were playing pool.

"Hey guys," I said, trying to make easy conversation to start.

"Hey," they both said, fully concentrated in their game. "Ha! That's it folks! I win!" Remy exclaimed as she sinked the final ball.

"Uh huh. I let you win kid," Fiona said to her winking.

Remy just smiled at her before turning to me. "So, what's up Clare?"

"Oh, um… well the guys and I thought that it'd be a good idea to go out for a night on the town, since the portal's open and we need more food. Fitz is even going to bring Bianca," I answered calmly.

"Ooh! That's sounds like so much fun! I have to go talk to Adam!" Fiona chimed, running to the kitchen.

When I turned back around, I found Remy just standing there, holding her stick close to her and leaning her cheek on the side of it.

"Is it selfish of me to not want to go, since… you know… I'd be the only one without a date?" she asked me, looking worried.

"Well… what about Gabe? You could invite him," I suggested, trying to make my voice sound soft. But the moment I mentioned his name, her face flushed within seconds and she became very nervous.

"Oh, uh… I don't know. I mean… I don't know if he likes me as much as say you and Eli like each other," she said, looking away.

"Remy… is something holding you back?" I said, looking concerned. "Here, come sit," I said, sitting on one of the exercise balls while patting the other one for her. Once she was seated, I turned the ball so her body was facing mine, but her eyes were staring at the floor.

"Rem… are you afraid of losing him as a friend if he doesn't feel the same way?" I asked, taking a shot at the possibility of her feelings being the same as mine were.

She just shook her head, not taking her gaze off of the rubber flooring. I sighed and put my hand on her shoulder, rubbing it comfortingly.

"Then what is it?" I asked softly, trying to find the root of the problem.

She gulped loudly before looking up with tears brimming her eyes. I've never seen her like this. So, exposed… so… vulnerable. She was so open to me now, and I felt honored to be the one she felt comfortable enough to cry in front of. I always saw her as such a strong girl, but I guess I forgot about the emotions that she must be holding inside.

"Well," she started, breathing shaky. "I've known Gabe for quite some time now. He used to be my neighbor in Chicago. He's known about my powers since I have, and the same for his powers. We know everything about each other. He's my best friend, I would do anything for him," she said, taking a pause to sniffle. "But because of my abilities… I'm always afraid that if things start heading in… _that_… direction, I could accidentally hurt him. And I wouldn't be able to live with myself if he was in pain because of me. And I don't mean just physically, but emotionally too," she said, coughing from talking fast while crying. I just kept rubbing her shoulder, giving her all the time she needed to continue her story.

"Can I tell you something?" she said, looking me in the eyes. I've never noticed how stunning her eyes were before. Not even the first day I met her. They were light brown with a thin dark blue rim around each iris. And from the water pooling over the edges, she looked like a painting. A painting of a wounded girl…

"Anything," I said reassuringly.

"I've never had a boyfriend before…" she said quietly. "I'm the youngest one in the house. This would have been my freshman year in high school."

I didn't know she was the youngest…

"What do I do Clare? How do I handle this? You always seemed so poise… so graceful with how you carry yourself. Please… tell me what I should do. I'd rather suffer myself than put him through grief," she said, emotion pouring from her words.

I took a deep breath and held her hands in mine. "If it were me in your position, I would invite him tonight. Then, I would sit him down in private, where nobody could disturb us. I'd take his hands in mine, look him straight in the eye, and tell him how I feel. I'd tell him how much of my heart he holds, and how much he means to me. That the last thing I would want to do is hurt him. I'd try my best to make him understand all the complications of my manner. And if he doesn't understand that… however painful it may be… then it wasn't meant to be. Remy, you deserve someone who gets every part of you," I said, meaning every word.

She just looked at me with her eyes of sorrow and nodded. She was a smart girl, but it's topics like these that make smart girls do stupid things. And I cared about her too much to just watch her fall down.

"I want you to make a promise to me," I said, lowering my head so I could look into her eyes. "I want you to promise me that you will never settle for anything that doesn't feel right. You are so much better than you think you are. You have so much to offer to people, and so much light to shine on the dark beings in the world. Never accept anyone that doesn't give you 100%," I said, starting to tear up myself.

She nodded before, slowly, lifting her head higher to look at me again. She had a small smile on her face that showed me that she understood. And without thinking, we hugged each other, this conversation making its permanent scare in our memories.

When she pulled away, she looked at me adoringly. "You know Clare, you're much more than a friend to me. You're like my older sister, who I know will be there for me when I need her. I love my mother more than anything in the world, but with everything else she had to deal with, being a single mother raising a super-human teenager, she never really had time to build an in-depth emotional bond with me. Thank you," she said, a final tear falling down her cheek.

I smiled at her, a few tears of my own falling on the floor. We laughed lightly at ourselves before standing up.

"Um, uh… I'm going to go, uh… call Gabe," she said with a smile and a small wave before going through the back door and up the stairs.

I decided to take the other exit to give her some time alone. But once I turned the corner, I bumped into a hard figure. I looked up to see Eli, idolization written all over his face.

"Eli… how much of that did you hear…?" I asked tentatively.

"Enough," he answered, pulling me close. "Your amazing, you know that?"

I smiled up at him, "I try." He leaned down to kiss me softly on the lips, passion burning on the surface.

He broke the kiss a few seconds later and said, "Come on, let's go get ready."

**There it is! Hope you enjoyed! And I will have to say this in advance, but if I ever don't update for a few days in a row, don't be alarmed! I'm just going through some tougher health stuff at that moment and will update as soon as possible! :) And if you enjoy stories such as this one, involving God/Goddesses... I've read 2 others similar to it by _jamester7 _and _Dluv4eva4_4, so go check 'em out! See ya soon!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okey dokey! This is chapter is somewhat uneventful, but it let's you know what page all the characters are on. More outfits! Pictures will be posted on my profile. Enjoy!**

_(6:00)_

The rest of the day went by lazily, since we were all just cleaning up the house with nothing better to do. Bianca and Fitz were going to come by in around fifteen minutes so we could all go down to the portal together.

"Hey Alli," I said, looking up from the last piece of my weekend homework to see her walk through the door.

"Hey, can ask you something… about Remy?" she said quietly, sitting on the other side of my bed.

"Sure… what is it?" I asked tentatively.

"Well… I'm just worried about her. This morning I saw her walk out of the gym with dry tears on her face and blood-shot eyes. Has she talked to you at all?" she said, looking concerned.

"Knock-knock!" Fiona said at the door, walking in with Jenna.

"Did Alli beat us to asking you about Remy?" Jenna said, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"Yeah, and guys, she did talk to me," I said, making them all lean in slightly in anticipation.

"_But_… I'm not sure it's something she would want to be told without her here—" I said, being cut off my the door opening _again._

"Uh… did I miss the memo for the meeting?" Remy joked.

"Rem! Come in! We, um, are worried about you," Fiona said, trying to find the right words. Remy just looked utterly confused before turning to me, her expression asking the question, "What's going on?"

"They asked me if you talked to me at all about anything that's bothering you. " I explained. But her face just stayed the same. "Alli saw you come out of the training room with tear stains," I clarified, causing her mouth to form and "O" in understanding.

"Um, uh, that… incident… from earlier today… Clare and I were just talking about Gabe…" she said, sitting down and twiddling her thumbs.

"Ooh! Tell! Boy stories!" Jenna said, a big smiling forming on her face. But I shook my head at her to try to tell her that this isn't some "school-girl crush". Once she got the message, she quickly settled down.

Remy took a deep breath before saying, "In a nutshell, Gabe and I have lots of history together. He was my best friend since we were little, but I like him more than that… a _lot_ more. But my main concern with getting into a relationship is my fear of hurting him," she said, taking slow, deep breaths. "That's all I think I can say without crying…" she said, a small smile on her lips.

Fiona, Jenna, and Alli just nodded in comprehension.

"Remy! Gabe is here!" we all heard Fitz say from downstairs.

"Well… how do I look?" she said, standing from her seat and twirling a 360.

"Cute."

"Tres chic."

"Beautiful… but… it just needs one thing," Jenna said walking up to her, and spinning her around so her back was facing us. Remy had wavy hair to begin with; similar to what you would call "mermaid-hair". But with the magic of Jenna, her hair became gorgeous loose curls. It didn't look very different from her natural hair, but it was just enough for her appearance to go from a nine to a ten. After Jenna turned her back around, Remy looked at me for her final words of the evaluation.

I took a good look at her. She was wearing a t-shirt dress with grey and black, horizontal stripes. She paired it with some black leggings and a pair of ankle, motorcycle boots. She had on a golden, bow-tie necklace, and with her hair newly styled, her dark-teal slouchy beret made her eyes pop even more than usual.

"… Ready…" I said, looking at her with a smile. She returned it, before crossing her fingers and heading out my door.

"I'm so happy for her," Fiona said, sighing in satisfaction. She was wearing a baby-pink doll-top, rolled boot-cut jeans, and a pair of blue ballet flats with bows on them. She wore with it, a charm necklace and a bunch of golden bangles.

"Yeah, she sounds like she really likes him," Jenna said in agreement. She was wearing an, un-tucked, blue and red plaid shirt with some average blue jeans. On her feet were knee-high boots that accentuated her curvy figure.

Alli sighed happily. "Ah, young love… wait… how old is she?" she asked. Alli being Alli of course dressed to impress. She had a white tank top with a necklace design on the front, which she tucked into a dark-grey ruffled skirt with a floral pattern. To top it all of, she wore teal flats with black rhinestones on the toes.

"Would you believe this would have been her freshman year in high school?" I said knowingly. The outfit I chose for myself consisted of a pink tank top with a picture of a cartoon zebra on the front, topped with a drapery, sleeveless cardigan. I wore denim shorts and gladiator sandals to finish it off. I felt like being comfortable today.

"Well, let's go see this 'Famous Gabe'!" Alli said, jumping up form my bed and went downstairs, followed by Jenna and Fiona. I followed caboose, anxious to see who had Remy's heart in such a tight hold.

**Yup, that's it. The next chapter will be longer since it will tell everything that happens in the village. Get excited! Lot's of fluff and drama to come! So what do you think of little Remy's romance? What do you think of Fitz and Bianca's romance? Let me know! I love hearing what you guys have to say! It makes writing feel more rewarding. In fact, let's make a deal. The more reviews I get from each chapter, the longer I will make the next updates. Deal? Mkay! Review and check out my profile! :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Okay... this is _really_ short. But I just wanted to update this real quick before I start winding down for the day. And thank you guys for the reviews! And yes, I did enable the "non-user review" button... I didn't know I had it off before... oops. :/ But anyway... here ya go! **

_(6:20)_

Before I left my room to go down the stairs, I quickly tested my new found ability of turning invisible. Within seconds, I had no reflection in the mirror on my vanity, and my skin had a golden-white light radiating around it. I smirked to myself, and triumphantly returned to normal.

I began walking down the stairs when, halfway down, I saw this boy that had Remy in an emotional wreck. He was hot; I'll give him that. And I'm not sure what to think of it right now, but the moment I saw him, I got this feeling of… _right_… in the pit of my stomach. And he indeed, just as Adam said, had hair the color of KC's, skin like Drew's, and eyes green like Eli's. But unlike KC's hair, his style more so resembled Eli's cut. And when the light hit his head at a certain angle, it some strawberry-blonde looking highlights came out. His skin was practically the same color as Drew's, but not in a way that looked like he sat out in the sun all day, but more like he was born that shade naturally. His eyes however, were very vibrant. The closer I got, I noticed the center of his eye, the area just around the pupil, was an amber color. Ahh… that's probably why his eyes seem so bright. But I'll always be attracted to those dark, mysterious, pure green eyes of none other than the foxy man himself… _Eli_.

"So… you must be Gabe," I said, walking up to Eli and pulling my arm around his waist. He responded by draping his arm around my shoulder. I took a quick peak at Remy, and saw that she was trying to hold back a laugh. What was so funny? I followed her gaze to Gabe's face and saw that he looked nervous… _very nervous_. Then, following his gaze, I saw what was so nerve-wracking. All five guys were staring straight at him, almost challenging him. Aww! They're all acting like older brothers!

"Um, uh, yeah… that's me. It's, uh… really nice to meet you all," he said, laughing uneasily. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and his expression showed that he was on high alert.

"Guys… stop trying to have a stare-off," Remy said, walking over next to Gabe in his defense. He looked at her gratefully before turning back toward the crowd.

The boys snapped out of their mental dual and cuddled up to their rightful girls as a form of surrender. Fitz was even cheeky enough to throw up his hands.

"Hey… no harm intended," he said, looking at Remy innocently before grabbing Bianca's hand.

"We should get going," Eli said, breaking the awkward silence. We all wordlessly agreed and headed out the door.

We walked for maybe two minutes before we were faced with a tiny, wooden building. Remy took the initiative and opened the door to walk in.

"Wait! How are we all going to fit in there?" Bianca exclaimed.

Remy just chuckled, "You'll see," before ducking her head and stepping inside. Everyone else proceeded after her until it was just Eli and I left to go in.

"Ladies first," Eli said, grabbing my hand to help me get inside.

"Such a gentleman," I teased, flashing him a toothy grin.

"You know it, babe," he said back, winking at me. Ugh… the things that boy does to make my stomach go on "spin mode".

Once I lifted my head after stepping inside, I couldn't believe my eyes.

**Yup... that's it. Just a little teaser for what's to come in the next chapter... WHICH WILL BE EPIC! I promise! Reviews please! *heart 3**


	13. Chapter 13

**Next chapter! I had to stop short because I'm starting to not feel the greatest. But I promise that I will continue where this leaves off very soon! I just needed a little break ;) So, I present to you... Chapter 13! ***I will put a picture of the overview on my profile*****

_(6:30)_

Holy mother…. what the _hell_ did I just step into? I turned back around to see Eli take his first glance at the image before us. His mouth fell to the floor!

The room was just big enough for maybe thirty people, comfortably. It somewhat resembled an airport… minus the flight board, bustling people, and check-in gizmos.

"Um… what are we supposed to do?" Bianca asked, a bit of annoyance in her voice. What was her problem?

There were many blank screens up against the wall, all level with each other. One, however, was lit to a picture of an overview of our destination. It looked like a picture in a vacation pamphlet. The sunset in the background was just right. And the multiple buildings were hit with the lights in the street. They, dare I say, glowed!

Gabe walked over to the picture and put his finger on it. He held it there for maybe five seconds before pulling back, looking at his finger in confusion.

"Hmm… I thought that was what you were supposed to do…" he said to himself.

Remy walked over to him, saying something about his idea being close. Gabe opened up his body so that she could step in front of him and be face-to-face with the picture. But instead of backing off, he stayed… right behind her. And he put his arm up on the wall that hung the picture, looking down over her shoulder.

I looked to my left at Fiona, who felt my eyes on her. She turned to me with a look of amusement and confusion. Then she mouthed the words, "He's so close to her!" before laughing to herself.

But the funny part was… Remy didn't seem fazed about it one bit. She didn't flinch or jump at his proximity. She just continued working with the picture. Which only means one thing… Her comfort level with him is OFF THE CHARTS if they're standing in that position and they're still only friends. Hell! If she pushed her butt out, just a little bit… they'd be grinding!

"Got it!" Remy said happily, taking her _whole hand_ off of the screen after it scanned.

"Oh, you think you're so smart…" Gabe said to her teasingly.

"Hey! Smarter than you!" Remy challenged, an amused grin on her face.

"Ha! Name one time!" Gabe replied, matching Remy's expression.

"You mean besides just now?" she said to him, smirking wickedly.

Gabe opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it, thinking about Remy's words. Instead, he just mumbled something incoherent to himself, still smiling ever so slightly.

Remy just laughed at him before turning her attention back to us, which almost immediately made her go red in the face. _Everyone_ in our group was staring at the two of them. Girls with faces of glee, and boys with faces of confusion.

"Um, uh… we go through th-that door," Remy stuttered, pointing toward a door to the far right. Oh… when we came in here I thought it was just an elevator…

We all packed ourselves inside, which was, to say the least… pretty cramped. Each person had maybe a square foot of floor to call their own.

"Press the red button!" Remy said, muffled from being in the back of the elevator-type-contraption.

KC, being closest to the button, pushed it with force, making my vision go white.

Once my vision returned to normal, I was about to say something involving fainting or something, but was halted by the sound of Remy saying, "We're here!" And soon enough, the door slid open, exposing a world that I never dreamed of entering.

Cobblestone grounds supported hundreds of white-stoned buildings with blue roofs and treatments. Several cart-shops cluttered the streets, selling all kinds of goods from food to clothes. Palms trees canopied over the activity like they were protecting it from the outside world. But not enough that you couldn't see the magnificent body of water about half of a mile down the left side. It glimmered in the light, almost as if it were waving to all of the newcomers.

"This place is beautiful…" I said breathlessly. I meant to only say that to myself, but I guess Eli had heard me, because he wrapped his arm around my waist. He brought his mouth right up to my ear, half of his face in my hair, and whispered, "Then I guess you'll fit in here just fine." Oh… the things I would give to jump him, right here and right now…

"Alright, how about the girls go and get the food for back home real quick while the boys go and get some ice-cream and wait for us at some tables?" Jenna suggested the group, batting her eyelashes at the last part in an attempt to sway the vote.

"Um… okay, but how are you going to buy the food? Don't you need money?" KC said, looking confused.

Fiona whipped out a golden card with the letter "CG" written in red on the front. "Not with this guy. All we have to do bring everything up to the cash register, show them the card, and they'll transport all the food straight to the house. In the refrigerator and everything!" she said, beaming proudly.

"Hot damn… we get to live like pimps!" Fitz said, fist-bumping Drew.

"Not quite. The card only works for groceries," Remy said, looking apologetic.

Fitz just responded with the grumbling of his stomach. "Well, guess we should get a move on before I die from hunger," he said dramatically, putting the back of his hand on his forehead and pretending to faint.

"Yeah, we've got some dude-bonding to do," Adam said, putting his arm around Gabe's shoulder, making him look nervous again as the boys walked toward the ice-cream parlor called, Hedone's Own.

"Clare, what do I do? They're going to scare him!" Remy whispered to me sounding worried and frustrated.

"Leave it to me… I've got a plan…" I said, giving her a smirk before turning invisible.

She gasped for a split second before a big smirk took over her face, realizing that I was going to follow the boys. "You evil genius…" she said impressed holding up her hand for a high five. I slapped her hand, making her jump in fear.

"Ahh! Okay… that's freaky…" she said starting to back away. "Thank you Clare!" she whispered to the general area of where she last saw me standing before turning and running after the girls.

I began chasing the boys before I finally caught up with them on the line to order.

"So, Gabe… you've been friends with Remy since you were kids, huh?" Drew asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Uh, yeah, we were neighbors when we lived in Chicago," Gabe answered tentatively.

"So… that's all you are then? Past-neighbors and friends?" KC asked leaning in closer.

Gabe's face flushed pink on the apples of his cheeks. "Um, uh, right now, yeah…" he said, trying to avoid eye contact.

"So your saying that you have no other feelings for her… _none_…?" Adam asked accusingly.

"Um… I… uh…" Gabe stuttered before looking relieved that it was their turn to order.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" the employee asked the boys when they got to the front of the line. He was a fairly plump man with a thick mustache.

Drew went first. "Uh, yeah, I'll have a scoop of double chocolate and a scoop of rainbow sherbet."

The man just laughed heartily at Drew's order. "Har Har Har Har! Son, we don't have those flavors," he said, pointing down to the buckets of ice-creams flavors behind the glass wall. They were all names of Greek desserts…

"Oh… um… then I'll take a scoop of Revani and a scoop of… Kalitsounia Sto Tigani?" he said, looking at the pictures of "semolina cake" and "fried sweet cheese pies".

"And I'll have a scoop of Pasta Flora (jam tart) and Svinghi (greek donuts)," KC told the man.

"And get me a scoop of Galaktoboureko (milk pie) and Rizogalo (rice pudding)," Fitz said, following suit.

"Can I have a scoop of Amygdalota (almond biscuits) and a scoop of Halvas Tou Fournou (baked halva)?" Adam asked the man politely.

"I'll take a scoop of Glykisma Amigthalou (almond torte) and a scoop of Loukoumathes?" Eli said. Loukoumathes? What the hell did Eli order me?

"I'll have a scoop of Halvas Simigdalenios (semolina sweet) and Baklava?" Gabe ordered for him and Remy.

The man behind the counter just nodded at the insane number of orders and began scooping the treat.

"So… you got Remy Baklava, huh?" Adam said, leaning on the counter.

"Uh, yeah… it's her favorite," Gabe answered, smiling nervously.

Amazingly, the man behind the counter was back with our orders in seconds flat. "Here 'ya go kids. Say hello to your kopela for me!" he said with a warm smile.

The boys paid and then headed outside to find a table. Everyone took a seat except for Gabe.

"Uh, Remy likes her ice-cream with a cinnamon stick, so I'm just going to, uh… go get one," he said in a rush before giving a small smile and heading toward the station holding cinnamon sticks, powdered sugar, and a whole bunch of other confections.

As soon as Gabe was gone, I slapped each boy on the back of the head. And it was really hard to not start laughing when they kept rubbing their heads, looking around for whoever hit them.

"What the hell is going on?" Eli said, wincing at where I just hit him.

"I hit you…" I said, smirking at them as I became visible again.

They all jumped in their seats before realizing it was only me.

"Clare! What the… why are you here and not with the girls?" KC asked in shock.

"And why did you hit us…?" Adam mumbled to himself.

"_Because_…" I said, dragging out the word, "Remy thought that you guys might try and scare Gabe, which is why I followed."

"So… why did you hit us?" Drew said, looking confused.

"Because you guys did scare him!" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

They all looked at the table guiltily. "Hey, we're just trying to make sure that he's a good guy," Fitz spoke up.

I sighed. "Guys, Gabe has known Remy longer than any of us in the house. They are comfortable enough with each other to be so close, it's borderline inappropriate. They exchange innocent, witty banter about the little things. He knows her favorite ice-cream flavor and what kind of topping. Trust me, I have the feeling that he's a good guy. Give him the benefit of the doubt… for Remy's sake," I explained to them.

"Alright… but if he breaks her heart… I swear…" Eli started to say.

"I know, I know… there will be hell to pay. Oh, he's coming! I was never here," I said, before quickly turning invisible.

**Alright... I'm going to go take a nap and hopefully get to working on the next chapter. Lots will happen! Be prepared! Review please! :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ta da! Next chapter! I will be putting pictures of flowers on my profile... just read it... you'll know what I mean. ;) And here is a Youtube link for the song that was supposed to be playing in the background when you see the "*". Enjoy!**

**youtube(dot)com/watch?v=58McBf4tiQ0  
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_(11:30)_

As it just so happens, when I saw Gabe coming back towards the table, the girls were heading the same way.

"Clare! The girls are coming!" Adam whispered to my invisible self.

"But… Gabe is almost here!" Drew countered.

"But then everyone would be here except her!" Eli whispered to the two of them.

"Just become visible again!" KC told me.

"Say you ran ahead of your group!" Fitz said, finishing the thought.

I quickly became visible again and took the seat closest to Eli. I put my elbows on the table and tried to look deep in thought. The boys tried their best at looking natural as well…. but… they more looked like they were modeling for a painting. Adam propped his feet up on the table and dipped his head pretending to sleep. Snoring… mouth open… the whole shebang. Drew appeared as if he were entranced by something that was up in the sky because he was looking straight up, pointing at… well… nothing. KC and Fitz were probably the most unbelievable. They were playing patty-cake and laughing hysterically. The only problem? They were frozen… as in not moving. Still as a board. Like a fricken sculpture or something! Eli however… he made this natural thing hard… He leaned his elbows up on the table next to mine, only he continued by holding his chin on his two fists. He turned his head to face mine, but with a goofy face plastered on it. He looked like an infant with gas!

As Eli and I were trying to hold our laughs in, Gabe made it to the table first.

"Um… do you guys pose like this often? Oh, hi Clare?" Gabe said, utterly confused, comparing what he left behind to what he was looking at right now.

"Hi Gabe. Just, uh… you know… um…" I said, trying to think of an excuse, "Oh! I, uh… just _had_ to see Eli. Yeah… I just _really_ missed him!" I said, as Eli pulled me close. He must have thought my excuse was humorous, because when he pulled me close, I could hear him chuckling huskily in my ear. That made me smile.

"Um… okay…" Gabe said, accepting my lame reason for suddenly being with the guys. Just then, the girls came over to the table. I guess Remy told them about the plan because they didn't seem fazed by the fact that I was here and not shopping with them.

"Ice-cream!" Fiona squealed, making her voice sound like a little kid.

"Fitz… what the hell did you order me?" Bianca said, looking at her ice-cream in disgust.

"It's Rizogalo flavor…" Fitz said, his face resembling a wounded puppy for a split second before returning to eating his ice-cream.

Bianca took a tiny piece of her dessert on the tip of her spoon. "It's not bad," she finally declared, arrogance in her voice. Okay… I'm _really_ starting to not like this girl.

"I love having ice-cream for dinner," Remy hummed happily, licking the ice-cream off of the end of the cinnamon stick. Gabe was just staring at her. It was subtly done, but it looked like he was mesmerized by how she was eating her ice-cream. Oh gosh…

"Dinner? How late is it?" Jenna said, looking for a possible clock around here.

Remy strained her neck to look at a giant clock in the center of the road. It was surrounded by flowers and elaborately designed.

"11:30," she read. 11:30 already?

"The time is five ours later than when we left because the transfer-chamber actually takes a total of five ours to get us here. It just feels like five seconds," Gabe explained to the perplexed faces.

"Come one! Come all! Do you think you know your best friend better than anyone else? Play for a chance to be the King and Queen of Athena's Wisdom!" we all heard, coming from a short man with a top hat over by the large clock.

Since everyone was already done with their ice-cream, we all decided to walk over.

"Hey Remy, want to go kick some ass?" Gabe asked her, nudging her lightly.

"You know it!" she said with a smile before the two of them ran toward the sign-up sheet, laughing with each other.

Eli put his arm around my waist and leaned down to whisper, "Do you think we would be disqualified if we're more than best friends?"

"And the fact that I'm Athena's daughter?" I added, smirking at him.

"Hmm, we could ask the tiny man…" Eli said, pretending to think deeply about this "dilemma".

"Ooorrrr," I said, "We could just sit right here… with each other…" I suggested, biting my lip.

"Ahh… you know me well," he said, smirking down at me before sitting on the street curb, pulling me down gently to sit me between his legs. We were so engrossed in each other that we didn't even realize the contest had started.

Though many people gathered around to watch the contest, there was only one other team besides Remy and Gabe. They were an… interesting… looking pair. One was a girl with pink bob-cut. She had a little red bow holding back her bangs, and had a pair of thick-rimmed glasses. Her partner… who was at least five inches shorter than her… was a man that was bald but had a full-blown blue beard. Yes, _blue_. And he had one brown eye and one blue eye. Apparently, their names were Benny and Biff. Yeah…

After maybe fifteen minutes of absurd questions such as, "What would your partner do if he were by himself, had twenty dollars in pennies, and had to use the bathroom?" And as I expected, Remy and Gabe got every question right. It was kind of like the "Married-Couple" game on TV.

"Now for the last question," the stout man said. "What is one thing your partner can do that nobody but you has ever known?"

"Ooh! Ooh! Pick me mister!" Gabe said, waving his hand dramatically, secretly mocking the game. Hey! I don't blame him…

"Yes, Gabe!" the man replied, returning the enthusiasm but not picking up on the mockery.

"She can wiggle one ear at a time," Gabe said, turning to Remy with a triumphant smile.

"Correct! We have a winner!" the man said, looking at the card before holding up both Gabe and Remy's hands in victory.

"Woo hoo!" Remy exclaimed, copying Gabe's tone from before. The crowd clapped for them as the little man and his crew began cleaning up, getting ready for a singer that was going to take his place in about five minutes. Remy and Gabe started walking back towards us, laughing hysterically.

"Congrats! Not many people can say they've won the "How Well Do You Know Your Best-Friend Game"," Adam said, making fun of the ridiculously long name.

"You know it. And look! They gave us stickers to prove it!" Remy said, holding up a circle sticker with a mug shot of the little man that hosted the game. We all just laughed at the insanity of it all.

"Hello children," a middle-aged woman said to the group, wheeling around a cart full of flowers.

"Um… hello! And who might you be?" Alli asked politely.

"Why I'm Chloris! I'm here to hand out these complimentary flowers to all the couples! It's in honor of this here young ladies song," she said, referring to a some twenty-year-old woman with a guitar, setting up.

Everyone just kind of looked amongst each other, not sure how to respond. Luckily, one of her flowers on the cart started to shake, taking everyone's attention.

"Ahh! It seems the Bachelor's Button has chosen you two!" Chloris said, handing Jenna and KC a single pink flower.

"What does the tag say?" Jenna asked, smiling from the flower in her hands.

"It's what the flower symbolizes. Depending on your relationship, a rightful flower will be chosen to represent what it had detecting from the pair," Chloris explained.

"What's it say Jenna?" I asked, still in Eli's arms.

"It says," Jenna started, turning the tag over to read it," Hope and devotion," she finished, smiling from ear to ear before giving KC a quick peck.

"Ooh! Do me!" Alli said, starting jump from her seat on the curb. Chloris wheeled her cart closer to where she and Drew were sitting, which caused a blue flower to start to jump slightly.

"The Larkspur!" Chloris exclaimed, handing Alli the flower.

"It say, 'Laughter, ardent attachment, and an open-heart'," she said, hugging Drew wildly, making us all laugh.

"Your turn!" Chloris said, wheeling over to Fiona and Adam. A yellow flower started to shake.

"A water lily, it is!" she said, handing Fiona the delicate flower.

"Purity of heart," Fiona read, turning to give Adam an Eskimo-kiss, which he happily returned.

"Enjoy chicky! Who's next?" Chloris said, noticing Bianca and Fitz. A dark-yellow, striped flower started shake.

This made Chloris grunt in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Bianca asked innocently.

"Oh, um… nothing," Chloris said, shaking slightly, as if shaking away her thoughts. "You too have been chosen by the Crocus," she said, handing Bianca the flower, a smile plastered on her face.

"Foresight…?" Bianca read, looking suddenly nervous.** *** Just then, the woman with the guitar started to play her song. "Hey, Fitz! Let's go dance!" she said, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the street, where a few other couples had already started slow-dancing. This made the rest of the group get up to dance to, until it was just me, Eli, Remy, and Gabe left on the curb.

"Foresight?" I whispered to Eli in confusion. He just shrugged a me.

"Now, a flower for the blue-eyed beauty?" Chloris said, smiling at me. Just then, a white flower with an orange accent on one of the petals began to jump.

"Ooh! The Azalea!" she said, handing me the flower. I stuck my nose right up to it, inhaling its floral scent. I held the flower up to Eli's nose so he could smell it to, but he just sneezed.

"I think you smell better," he whispered tickling the back of my ear with his nose.

I just giggled at him before reading the tag. "Romance, fragile passion, and temperance," I read out loud, smiling up at him before kissing him softly.

"Ooo-kay!" Chloris said, interrupting our moment to move on to Remy and Gabe.

"Oh, um, uh…" they started to say. But just then, a bright purple flower stared to shake violently.

Chloris sighed happily, putting a hand over her heart. "The Primrose," she said, handing Remy the flower.

"Young love, can't be without you," Remy read quietly. She and Gabe just stared at each other in awe.

"Eli, let's go dance," I said, wanting to give them a moment alone. He got the message and walked me out into the middle of the street. Once we were a safe enough distance away from Remy and Gabe, Eli put his hands on my waist as I wrapped my arms around his neck. We began rocking back and forth, just staring into each other's eyes.

"So… we have been chosen by the Aza-la-la, huh?" he said, trying to pronounce the flower's name. I giggled at his mistake.

"Aza-_lea_," I said, correcting him. He just responded by pulling me closer.

"Thank you," I said abruptly.

"For what?" he said confused.

"For… us," I said smiling. He just smiled back at me before kissing me on my nose. The moment he pulled away though, I heard Alli cheering and whooping. I looked over at where she was looking and saw Remy and Gabe…

Remy's hands were fisted around the front of Gabe's shirt, pulling him closer. And Gabe had one hand on her cheek and the other on her lower back. They were kissing! Aww!

But from all the hollering and cheers, they pulled apart and looked at each other shyly. Remy turned toward the crowd and our eyes locked. She smiled at me gratefully before mouthing the words, "Thank you." I just nodded in return.

"Do it! Do it! Do it!" someone was chanting in the distance. Suddenly, everyone was running toward the beach end of the village and jumping off of the mini-cliff and into the deep blue water.

"Come on!" Eli said to me with a smile, pulling me toward the edge. Suddenly, I got an evil plan. I stepped behind Eli without him noticing, and pushed him forcefully over the cliff, making him splash into the water.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that Edwards!" he screamed up to me smiling, his bangs sticking to his face. I couldn't stop laughing! But my joy was quickly interrupted by two hands lifting me up by my underarms and holding me above the ocean.

"Alli! What are you doing!" I asked her frantically but laughing at the same time. We were floating… over a giant blue body of water…

"Count to three Edwards!" she said, smiling at me. But apparently everyone else took it upon themselves to count for me…

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

I was plummeting into the ocean. I closed my eyes and screamed from the thrill of it all. Then, as quickly as I landed, my head was bobbing up, gasping for air. Eli swam over to me.

"I told you that you were going to pay," he said to me gruffly.

"Oh? And how do you suppose I do that?" I asked in a flirty tone.

"Hmm? How about… with kisses?" he said, hoisting me up around his waist so my legs were wrapped around him. He held his hands under my butt to support me as I ran my hands through his wet hair. We were full blown making-out when we heard our names being called.

We separated unwillingly and swam over to shore. Once we got there, we began wringing out our clothes and hair along with the rest of our group.

"_Ring! Ring! Ring_!" Bianca cell phone went. She looked perfectly dry, so… I guess she didn't go in the water?

I caught a glimpse of the caller-ID and it said, "O". Hmm… _O_? She walked away to talk in private.

"Oh shit…" Remy said, suddenly looked worried.

"What is it?" Gabe asked her concerned.

"What time is it?" she asked, closing her eyes as if she were scared of the answer.

"Um…"Adam said, looking over at the clock, "12:30," he said.

"Damn… the portal closes at midnight!" she said exasperated and looking at us all apologetically.

We all just kind of acted dumbfounded. Where were we going to stay…?

"Hey guys!" Bianca said, suddenly coming back over to the group.

"We have to find a place to stay tonight," Fitz informed her.

"Oh! No worries! I just got off the phone with a friend and they told me that one of my house mates is here too. And she has a family condo here that we can stay in!" she replied proudly.

"…Which member of the house…?" Gabe asked her tentatively.

"Yeah, which one?" Jenna repeated.

"She's the daughter of Persephone, Goddess of the Underworld. Her name is Julia," she replied looking straight at me with a wicked grin.

**Bianca? Foresight? Persephone? Julia? What? Gah! The drama! Remember, check out my profile for pictures! Who do you guys think was on the phone with Bianca? Reviews!**


	15. Chapter 15

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews! I read every single one of them and love all of your comments. And as for the crew of House 4 actually meeting their parents... let's just say I'm way ahead of you. ;) Enjoy!**

As we followed Bianca to this mysterious, Julia's, house, I began feeling uneasy in my stomach. Not the kind of uneasy that makes you want to run to the closest toilet and keel over. But a kind of uneasy that made me think… something bad was going to come of this…

It didn't take long to get to Bianca's friend, Julia's, house. We eventually arrived at an almost all-white, cubical house. It was painted a true-blue color on the roof, door, and window panes. It looked like your average Greek house.

"Is this it?" Adam said once we stopped in front of the entrance steps.

"No, we just decided to stop here and build a tent for the night," Drew said sarcastically, pulling Adam's head in for a noogie.

Bianca walked up to the blue door and pulled out a key. She stepped inside while the rest of us quickly followed suit. Once inside, I heard water running from somewhere deeper into the house.

"Jules!" Bianca yelled, dropping her bag on the floor near the couch in the living room.

Just then, the sound of the water running shut off, and out came a girl with jet-black hair, fair skin, and near-black eyes that were heavily rimmed in makeup. She wore a dark grey, lacy camisole paired with dark denim short-shorts. She was holding a yellow towel, drying off her hands, and when she saw us… she formed a sinful expression on her face.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me Bi?" Julia said, turning to Bianca who had plopped herself on the couch and turned on the TV.

"Huh? Oh, just ask them…" she answered, engrossed in the show.

We all introduced ourselves in the order we were standing.

"Hey, I'm Fitz, son of Eris," Fitz said waving lazily.

Julia smirked and turned to look at the back of Bianca's head. "The trouble-maker..?" she asked Bianca who just shot her the middle finger without even looking back.

"Hi, I'm Fiona, daughter of Apollo," Fiona said with a smile.

"So you sing well then?" Julia responded, almost daring her.

"Well, um… I guess? I mean… I don't think that's something that I can judge fairly," she said honestly. Julia just scoffed at her before moving on to Adam.

"I'm Adam, son of Eirene," he said, making a rainbow motion with his hands.

Julia kind of scrunched her nose at the mention rainbow effect before turning toward KC.

"Um… I'm KC, son of Dionysus," KC said, his voice bland.

Julia smirked. "So you can down lots of beer?" Really? That's all she could come up with…?

"Uh… sure," KC said, yawning.

"I'm Jenna! Daughter of Aphrodite!" she said bubbly. Julia looked taken aback by her vivacious personality before turning to Alli.

"Hi! I'm Alli, daughter of Hermes!" Alli said, matching Jenna's tone. Julia's eyes bugged out of her head and she mumbled to herself, "There's two of them…" which made Alli's smile slightly falter.

"Ech-hem! Well… I'm Drew, son of Nike," Drew said, trying to rid of the awkward silence. Julia looked him up and down before looking him straight in the eye and saying, "Then, shouldn't you be more… muscular?" I think my mouth just dropped.

"And you are?" Julia said, losing interest in Drew and turning toward Gabe.

"Uh… I'm Gabe… son of Hygeia," he said, grabbing Remy's hand.

"So you're a neat-freak?" Julia said in disgust.

"What? No… my mom is the Goddess of good hea—" Gabe started to say, but was cut off by Julia's hand waving him off. Who does this girl think she is?

"Who are you?" she said, obviously growing bored with us.

"Remy. Daughter of Zeus," she said simply, putting her hand on her hip and staring at Julia with the same intensity as Julia gave her.

"Zeus huh?" Julia said, chuckling to herself as if she didn't believe her. "Sure…"

"Um… I'm Clare. Daughter of Athena," I said shyly. Julia just stared at me.

"So your little Miss Clare…" Julia said under her breath. Oh no… why does she already know who I am…?

"I'm Eli. Son of Hades," Eli said, trying to take Julia's intimidating focus off of me.

Julia did a double take at Eli's appearance before smirking.

"Short for Elijah… am I right?" she said in a… what was that… a flirty tone?

"I prefer Eli," he said, unfazed.

"Well Eli… may I say, your very… _attractive_…" she purred, stepping closer. What was she doing? Eli just backed up a step and slung his arm around my shoulders. This was enough to make Julia stop being so flirty, but still made me feel just as tense.

"Um… uh… if it's not a bother… c-could we maybe have a change of clothes?" Adam asked suddenly.

"Yeah… I'm f-freezing," Alli said, chattering her teeth for effect.

"Yeah, just wait here and don't get a single thing wet," Julia said, rolling her eyes at our discomfort. A few minutes later, she came downstairs the same way she left… empty handed.

"Did you not find us clothes?" KC asked, scratching his head.

"No, I did. The girls clothes I put in the room on the right and the boys clothes I put in the room next to the bathroom," she said, jutting her thumb behind her as she jumped on the couch next to Bianca. We all took that as our cue to go upstairs and change.

"Did she rub anyone else the wrong way when we introduced ourselves?" Fiona asked to the group of girls while looking through the old, oversized t-shirts.

"Yeah, there's something about her that makes me feel like she thinks she's better than us," Alli said, slipping into a big pink t-shirt that said "Bobo's Lemonade" on the front.

"I thought that too. And did you see her come on to Eli?" I added, slipping my legs into some red running shorts.

"And she was acting so bitchy when Alli and I tried to be nice and happy! I mean, she said, 'There's two of them…' What is that supposed to mean?" Jenna exclaimed, pulling her head through a dark blue shirt with paint stains on it.

"Whatever is mean, she better watch herself. She already made it onto my 'dislike list,'" Remy mumbled to herself, pulling up a pair of purple Soffe shorts. After we were all dressed in our "gym-class-reject" clothes, we went downstairs to find the boys, newly clothed and setting up blankets and pillows on the floor space and couches in the living room.

"Jenna, we were demoted to the floor," KC said and pouted, walking up to her in long black shorts and a t-shirt to hug her.

Jenna just laughed. "That's okay… more room on the floor anyway," she said, sticking her tongue playfully at Adam and Fiona setting up their "bed" on the second couch. Just then Julia came downstairs.

"Okay, looks like you guys have already started setting up. Is there anyone who hasn't yet?" she asked, looking for someone to raise their hand.

"I haven't yet," Eli said nonchalantly. This made Julia smirk, looking at me for a quick second.

"Fantastic! Since it's only you this will work out perfectly! Since Bianca and Fitz are sleeping in the guest room, and I'll be sleeping in my own room, you can sleep in my adopted-family brother's room," she said, smiling sweetly.

"Cool, thanks. Come on Clare," he said, grabbing my hand.

"Oh! No, she can't come with you," Julia said quickly.

"Um… why not?" Eli asked slightly aggravated.

"Because, it's only a twin-sized bed. The two of you won't fit…" she said, looking me up and down. Was this girl calling me fat?

"It's alright Eli, I'll be okay down here," I said, trying to reassure him while avoiding a big conflict.

He looked like he was thinking it over before sighing sadly and nodded an "okay". "I'll be right upstairs if you need me," he said, kissing my forehead before walking around Julia and went upstairs. Before Julia followed, she looked at me one more time and smirked evilly.

"I would sleep with one eye open if I were you," Drew said honestly.

"Yeah, she looks like she's out to get you," Adam added.

"Well don't worry, we'll all be here for you Clare," Alli said, putting her hand on my shoulder and smiling warmly.

"Thanks guys," I said before climbing under my blanket on my personal floor space, emptiness around me without Eli.

It was maybe 2 hours of lying there, lost in my thoughts that I couldn't fall asleep. I kept thinking about my mother, Athena. Was she struggling up there, trying to keep control of Athens? Was she having trouble handling everything that Poseidon was throwing at her? Does she ever think about me…

Then my thoughts drifted to Eli. He was really starting to make me feel like a goddess. He always acted like a gentleman. Was always sweet and caring, never afraid to put himself on the line for my own safety. And I know that's not something that comes around often. But now with Julia just down the hall of where he was sleeping, I couldn't help but feel…_ jealous_. But I couldn't help it! He's my boyfriend and she's acting passive-aggressive at getting with him! What was I supposed to do… nothing?

I quietly folded my blanket off of my body and tiptoed around those on the floor. I finally made it to the bottom of the stairs without waking anyone and began climbing the steps. But in the middle of the hallway, I bumped into a solid figure. I was about to screech out in shock before I felt a hand on my mouth and was gently dragged into a room.

I was scared out of my mind, but not for long, because soon the person that brought me into this room flicked on the lights and I was met with a pair of striking jade-green eyes.

"Eli! You scared me!" I whispered, smacking his arm.

"Hey! Was it my fault that you were in the hallway at the same time as I was?" he countered, smiling amused.

I huffed. "Wait… why were you in the hallway anyway?" I asked, realizing that he was just wandering around.

"Oh, um… well, I couldn't sleep. I was um… I couldn't stop thinking about my dad… and you…" he confessed, the tips of his ears turning red. Aww!

I smiled at him for telling me that. "I was in the hallway to see you because I couldn't sleep either."

"I want you to sleep in the bed with me… please?" he said suddenly, his voice filled with hope.

I was taken aback by his blunt request. "Uh… just sleeping… right?" I asked for clarification.

"Absolutely. I just… I want to feel you close to me…" he said, looking up at me through his thick eyelashes and smiling shyly.

I thought about it, and to be honest… I didn't see why not. Except…

"But, how are we both going to fit?" I asked, eyeing the twin-sized bed.

"Hmm…" he said, pretending to think about it before say, "I think I know a way."

He grabbed my hand and walked me over to the bed. He layed down as far to the right of the space as possible before gently pulling me down to lay with him. Once we were both lying down, he turned to his side, motioning me to face the same direction as he was, so my back was to his chest. Then, he pulled his arms around me, enveloping me into his embrace. _We were spooning_…

I could feel his breathing on my neck. I could feel his eyelashes softly fluttered shut on my shoulder. I could feel his heartbeat, softly thumping against my back. It was the most soothing feeling in the world. I don't even think we pulled the blanket over us. But it didn't matter. Because he was my blanket, covering me with warmth and care. And his heartbeat was my lullaby, slowly lulling me to a heavenly sleep…

**Okay, not much happened in this chapter, but more will happen soon, especially in the next chapter when they go back to CG. And I'm sorry for the long period of time in between updates. _Lots_ of stuff happened this weekend. Well, write to you guys later! And feel free to PM me anytime! :) Reviews!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Thank you all for those who reviewed and for those who have reviewed more than once! I appreciate each and every one of them! Now, hold on to your horses ladies and gents... cause this next chapter is going to drop a BIG bomb on what will become of this story. :)**

The next morning, I woke up with a smile on my face as the memories of falling asleep in Eli's arms flooded back. All we did was sleep, but it felt as if we became much more close to each other than before. But… when I turned around to look at his beautiful face… he wasn't there. I heard talking downstairs, so I jumped out of bed and padded my feet down the stairs.

"Morning sunshine. Did you sneak off to a certain boy's room in the night?" Eli said to my back, hugging me from behind. I smiled from his hold.

"Shh… you saw nothing…" I said to him, winking.

"Okay, come on guys, take a few minutes to pry yourselves from each other and get ready," Adam said, pretending to vomit.

"Yeah, we've got to hurry and get back. There's apparently a big meeting at CG that everyone needs to go to," Jenna said, stuffing her wet clothes from the night before into an old grocery bag.

"Don't worry, I packed your suitcase already," Eli said, holding up a similar grocery bag with my clothes in it. I just laughed at him and took my soggy garments.

"Alright, everyone ready?" Remy said, tying her bag closed by the handles.

Everyone nodded and started walking toward the door, when Julia came downstairs, looking like a mess. I mean… yes… it was first thing in the morning… but the girl looked like a raccoon that was caught in a tornado. Her makeup was smudged all over and her hair was doing everything opposite of right.

"Where are you going?" she asked us, but more so Eli since he was the only person she was looking at.

"Um… _we're_ going back to CG. There's a big meeting today," Fitz said, looking kind of sad.

"Oh, well then I guess I'll see you later," she said, still looking only at Eli. "Bye Eli…" she purred, failing epically at trying to be sexy in her current appearance. We all exchanged looks before heading out the door. Was this girl for real?

"What was all of that about? 'Bye Eli…' I mean come on, does she know how bad that sounds?" I vented to no one in particular.

"Ooh… someone sounds jealous…" Jenna teased.

"Hey! Can you blame her?" Eli said, stopping to make a pose as if he were Superman.

We all just laughed at him. "Your so haughty, you know that?" I said to him, lacing my fingers in his.

"Oh, I think you mean I_ am_ a hottie… then yes, I know that," he said back, giving me a peck on the cheek.

We walked at a comfortable stroll down the cobblestone path of the Village for a good ten minutes before we finally made it back to the transport-chamber.

"Hey Fitz… Bianca didn't want to come with us?" Adam asked, looking around as if he could have possible missed her this whole time.

"Um… uh… she and I aren't exactly together anymore so… I think she's planning on coming back with Julia…" Fitz said glumly, looking at the floor. I knew there was always something wrong about her…

"Oh… well we're all sorry about that man. That sucks," Drew told him, putting his hand on his shoulder as comfort.

"Yeah, and sorry I brought it up," Adam said, looking like he brought up painful memories in Fitz head. Fitz just grunted "okay", still not looking up.

I could feel Eli squirming next to me from all of the awkward tension in the tight room, so he forcefully pressed the same red button as the night before, and the familiar white vision flooded my eyes once again.

Once we were back at the CG, the doors slid open to reveal the area looking abandoned.

"Where is everyone?" Fiona said, asking what we were all thinking.

Gabe and Remy exchanged a look before both of their eyes popped out of their heads.

"THE MEETING HALL!" they both exclaimed before taking off in that direction.

We all took that as our cue to start high tailing over to the meeting hall. We were all sprinting, huffing and puffing for maybe half of a mile before we arrived at the large building that resembled a town hall. Gabe and Remy were the first to reach the door, which they pushed open to a packed attendance.

To say that we made a grand entrance would be an understatement. The moment we all stampeded through the heavy double-doors, all heads turned to the back of the room to stare at us. I don't think I've had this much stage fright in my entire life…

"House 4, Gabe, glad you could join us," said Kyra, daughter of Pan and head counselor. She gave us all a stern look before nodding her head to the seats in the back of the room that were nearest to the door. We all sat down obediently.

"As I was saying," Kyra began, "As all of you probably know, there is a conflict brewing between Poseidon and Athena of the current status of Athens. Although it is trying to be prevented, we can only prepare for the worst… a war."

The whole assembly gasped at her last word. A war? No… they can't start a war! Whatever the Gods do affects everything that happens here on Earth! I looked down my row of seats to all of my housemates and we all shared the same expression… panic…

"Now, calm down, calm down," Kyra screamed over the roaring group, trying to regain control over the room. "Saying this doesn't confirm anything about the results of this feud. We are just merely making sure that whatever happens, even if it were a case as unfortunate as a war, we are all kept as safe as possible."

The crowd stayed silent; stunned at the news they were just told. Kyra took this opportunity to say, "Are there any questions?" causing maybe 75% of all hands to go up.

"Yes, you," Kyra said, pointing to a girl in the front.

"What will happen to those on Earth if a war happens?" she asked.

"There is no definite answer. It can range from nothing to… even natural disasters," Kyra answered sadly. "And you?" she said, picking on an older boy at the far left side of the room.

"Are we going to have to go back home?" he asked, wringing his hands around his wrists.

"No. It's been decided that in order to keep you all as safe as possible, we keep you all in the same area. That way, there are always other with… _abilities_… around in case of emergency," Kyra explained.

After Kyra answered the second question, a little girl, probably no older than the age of seven began jumping up and down, waving her hand in the air madly.

"Uh, yes?" Kyra said, trying to stifle a laugh.

"My question is, are any of us going to have to help fight?" she asked innocently.

Kyra took in a deep breath before looking over the entire crowd and saying, "It is very much possible."

This caused another fit of panicked discussions to erupt in the room. Were we really expected to fight if need?

"Now, now, I know your all really confused and most likely worried!" Kyra shouted, trying to calm everyone. "But I want to reassure you that we are doing as much as we can to make sure that those extreme measures have as little chance of occurring as possible. Which brings me to my guest of the evening," she said, pointing to the double-doors in the back of the room. And just as her speech ended, in walked the all mighty… Hermes.

**AAAAAHHHHHH! War! Hermes! Fighting! Let me know what you think and if your excited about what's going to happen to the gang of House 4 and others! **


	17. Chapter 17

**Alrighty! This is more of just a feel-good chapter. Let's meet the famous Hermes, shall we?**

He entered with such elegance. He was fairly handsome and stood tall for a man. His hair glistened under the auditorium lights and transitioned between hues of brown and blonde. His eyes were large and blue, almost adding to his mischievous atmosphere. Atop of his head he wore a winged hat that matched the winged sandals on his godly feet. But in his hand, he proudly held a golden staff, which was twined with serpent figures.

When I turned my head to look over at Alli, her face was completely awestruck. She couldn't tear her eyes away from him. It was as if she were finally meeting her idol after years of constant search. Sure, Alli's adoptive parents were good to her, but she always seemed as if she had a different type of brain. That she wanted to experience life in a completely different way than they had planned for her.

Hermes sauntered his way to the stage on the other side of the room, attracting everyone's attention. He didn't even use the stairs when he got there. He just floated up to the height of the stage and took his stance.

"Greeting descendents!" he said, his voice booming over the entire room. "As I hope all of you know, my name is Hermes. I am the messenger to all of the Gods and have come with a memorandum sent to you all from the big man himself," he said, taking complete rule over the room. Even the counselors were fully in-tune with what he was saying.

You could feel everyone lean forward in their seats in anticipation. "Children, I come to tell you of your duties as descendents. As Kyra here must have told you, there is the possibility of war amongst the Gods above. And what is expected of you later on in your adulthood may come sooner than all have expected," Hermes projected, giving the audience a few seconds for all of the news to sink in.

"So what I have brought for you all today, is this," he said, pulling out a little box, decorated with gold leaves, jewels, and other fine treasures.

"Each house will be given one, which will be used to control contact between you and your rightful parent. Since it is a very new invention, there may be some glitches in the system every once and a while. But for the most part, this will be used by opening the top here," he said, lifting the top of the box, "And stating your name into the space. You will then be connected to your parent. But once again, some cases will occur where your parent is currently unavailable," he finished closing the box forcefully, looking over the crowd. Everyone's faces expressed the same emotion. We were all scared out of our minds.

"Come on now," Hermes started to say, smiling slightly, "Get excited! Most Gods haven't experienced something like this until they were much older in their years," he said, trying to lighten the mood. A few people got a chuckle out of his attempt, which made his smile grow full on his face. His smile was just like Alli's…

"Alright, well, you are all free to go. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday and don't stress too much about this right now. When more is found out, we will hold another meeting," Kyra said, returning to the stage and giving a nod of her head that we were free to go back t our rooms.

As everyone started to disperse, our whole row stood to get ready to leave. All except one person… Alli. She just stayed sitting, her eyes staring straight at Hermes.

"Is Alli okay?" Eli whispered in my ear. I just shrugged and turn to the rest of our group who looked like they were thinking the same thing I was. I went over to where she was sitting, grabbed her hand, and started to walk her to the front of the room where Hermes was talking to one of the other counselors.

As we became closer to him, his conversation had ended and he was now alone, packing his satchel. He looked up once our entire group was standing right in front of him.

"Yes, children?" he asked, looking at all of us, stopping when his eyes hit Remy's face.

"Now, there's a pair of eyes I will never forget," he said, slightly smiling.

"Hi Hermes," Remy said with a smile and a small wave, "We've got someone here that I think you'd like to meet," she said, turning behind her to motion me to bring Alli forward. I gave her a gentle shove so she was standing right next to Remy.

"This is Alli. She is your go-to person for the latest gossip. She always seems to be on the move. And if you ask her to introduce herself, she will tell you her name, and that she is the daughter of… the messenger God," Remy finished, smiling at Alli, who was still in a trance at the sight of Hermes.

Hermes looked back and forth between Remy and Alli a few times before he appeared to have gotten the message. He slowly turned his head back to look at Alli, but this time, a gigantic smile took over his mouth. His eyes showed something deep within… something along the lines of discovery… and love. Alli's face wasn't much different. A smile of her own had covered her once mesmerized face, but hers was filled with merriment and relief.

Hermes opened his arms wide, motioning her to give him a hug. Alli took no time to run into his embrace, and dig her head into his chest.

"Hello kóre…" Hermes said into her hair, happiness filling his voice.

"Hi Daddy…" Alli mumbled into him, lifting her head with water-filled eyes.

I looked around at the rest of our house and saw that everyone had a smile on their face. But something that I wasn't expecting to see was that all of their smiles held a small part of sadness. And then I understood. Yes, we were all happy for Alli to be reunited with her father, but the rest of us have yet to experience that kind of meeting. Well… everyone except maybe Remy…

"Well my koritsaki, I am afraid that I must be on my way," Hermes said apologetically once he and Alli finished their moment. Alli frowned at his words.

"Will we be able to talk with the box?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course," he said, kissing the top of her head. "Farewell children. May you all discover your greatest potential," he said, putting his hand on the door.

We all said our goodbyes and watched him fly up into the sky.

"Say hello to the big man for me!" Remy said with a laugh, shouting up at what was now a speck, high in the air.

And that being said, we all headed back to our house with Alli clutching the box, skipping for joy.

**D'aww! Alli reunited with her Daddy! And don't worry, that box will be used to connect more of the members of House 4 with their parents in time. Reviews! :)**


	18. Chapter 18

**Meep! Sorry for the super late update! But as promised, here's the next chapter! :)**

"Honey! I'm home!" Adam said to the once empty house when we made it back.

"Ahh… Am I the only one that feels completely drained?" Drew asked the group.

Everyone just responded back falling on either a couch or a chair and grunting in exhaustion. Now that I think about it… the last 24 hours _have_ been really tiring.

"_You guys_… let's try out the box!" Alli squealed, waving the box Hermes gave her in the air. She motioned for us to all gather in a circle on the floor and put the box in the middle.

"I want to try!" KC said giddily. He snatched the box from the center and placed it right in front of him. "KC Guthrie," he said into the box. After stating his name, the gadget began to glow before the sound of cheering came out of the box.

"Hey-looo!" a voice said from inside it.

We all just stared at it in shock. The box was talking. It was a box… _that was fricken talking…_

"Say something…" Gabe whispered to KC.

"Oh… um… hello! My name is KC Guthrie!" KC said animatedly.

"Okay… well… what can I do for you _KC Guthrie_? Tell me what favor Dionysus can perform for such a young sounding lad?" he responded.

"Oh my god… It's him! It's him! It's my dad!" KC whispered loudly to the group.

"Are you still there son?" Dionysus said after a few seconds of silence.

"Yes! Son! Oh wait… uh… let me rephrase that… My name is KC Guthrie… and I am your son…" KC said, growing quieter near the end of his sentence.

"…I'm sorry… could you say that again son? I'm at a party and can't seem to hear 'ya!" Dionysus answered.

"I said… I'm your son," KC said, a little louder than before.

Just silence. Silence was the only noise coming from the box. From anywhere really. You know, that ringing sound of nothing in the air? Yeah… it was like that…

After maybe two whole minutes of the eerie silence, KC glumly said, "Maybe he hung up because he didn't want to talk to me anymore…"

But just as he finished talking, the box shot a bolt of light up towards the ceiling. It was creating a figure... no… a silhouette. Of a man. It was making a hologram of Dionysus!

"Oh my god," Jenna said, clapping her hand over her mouth.

"Aha! Got it! So… my son, huh? That's something 'ya don't hear everyday!" the light figurine of Dionysus said, facing KC. He just stared at it, blinking rapidly every so often.

"I know… it's kinda freaky. But no worries! It's as if I'm here… but I'm not! Har har! Gizmos these days…" Dionysus laughed, having a moment with himself. "Go ahead! Stick your hand through! Nothing will happen!" he said with a great smile, posing like a starfish.

KC tentatively ran his hand across his body from left to right… and nothing happened. His hand went right through Dionysus. Whoa… It _was_ as if he were here, but not here…

KC was starting to grow slightly pail. "Hey! No fainting on me here boy! We have some catchin' up to do! So tell me… how's life treating 'ya? Getting good grades? Got a girlfriend?" Dionysus said with an emphasized wink. "How are your powers coming along…?" he finished, only this time in a more serious tone.

"I'm good. You know… once everything involving super-human abilities was absorbed into my brain. But, um… yeah, grades are good. And this is my girlfriend, Jenna," KC said, pulling Jenna towards him so Dionysus could see her face.

"Aye! She's a 'beaut!" Dionysus declared, giving KC a thumbs-up. Jenna just smiled in thanks.

"And, um… as for my powers… I'm still working on my growing skills," KC said, his voice cracking slightly.

"Hey! Now worries! Like I always say, 'If a rain clouds upon 'ya, just sit back, and wait for it to pass.' Well… that, or you could just go over to Zeus and tell him to knock it off, 'ya know what I'm sayin'? Har har har!" Dionysus said, starting to crack up at his own joke.

"Well, I best be goin' son. Stay out of trouble! And look out for that girly of yours! You never know what kind of ways these Gods here have at creating wars, 'ya know? Well, bye-bye now!" he said before the connection was cut off.

"Wow… he's…" Fiona started to say.

"Interesting…" Drew added.

"He's awesome…" KC said happily, starting to snuggle with Jenna.

"Ugh… please don't start a porn video right in front of us," Drew said, covering Alli's eyes, making her giggle. KC gave in and just settled for holding Jenna in a tight embrace.

"Well, what should we do now? Meet more parents?" Alli said suggestively, wiggly her eyebrows.

"Let's just give the box a rest, Alli," I told her nicely, taking her hand off of the top. She obeyed and sat back against Drew's chest.

"Hey babe, could you do me a favor?" Eli said to me, shifting so he could face me while still keeping his arm around my shoulders. I blushed unintentionally from his use of the word "babe"…

"Yeah…?" I said, feeling my face heat up.

"Could you run up to my room real quick and grab my sweatshirt?" he asked me, giving me his melt-worthy puppy eyes.

I caved instantly. "Are you cold?" I asked him sweetly, petting his head like a puppy that he resembled.

He nodded his head, a shy smile on his face. I nodded and started to get up, but he quickly pulled me back down for a second to kiss my nose.

"Thank you," he whispered.

I just smiled at him before making my way up the boy's stairs and walking toward his room. I pushed the door open and found his sweatshirt in plain site on his bed. I quickly snatched it, not wanting to waste one moment of being away from him. But just as I grabbed it, I felt a cool wind hit me. I looked up to see his window wide open. Silly boy… keeping his window wide open…

I swiftly pulled the window down to a close, eliminating the shrill breeze that entered the room before. I turned around, ready to go back downstairs to find that someone had closed Eli's door. But the most shocking part? Julia was standing right in front of it…

**Damn you Julia... Haha! But really, this is about to get really interesting. Trust me... ;) And don't think I forgot about Eli's plan too! Reviews = (:**


	19. Chapter 19

**Woo-hoo! Fight! Fight! Fight! Who's ready to ruuuuuummmbbbllleeee? Haha! Well, here you go!**

She stood there, staring me down. Her raven hair was wrapped in a high ponytail and her dark, scorching eyes were filled with hostility. Her hands were planted firmly on her hips and her stance was a solid shoulder-width.

My heart stopped. It wasn't so much from the fear of knowing that I'd have to fight her somehow, but more of the fear of the unknown. I have _no idea_ how powerful she is, much less how to fight!

"Well hello Miss Clare…" she rasped, taking slow steps toward me.

"What do you want Julia…?" I croaked out. She just kept coming toward me, agonizingly slow.

"What I want… you have…" she said hauntingly. "You see, right now, you have yourself a man… a man who is rightfully mine."

I have a... was she talking about Eli?

"Let me spell it out for you sweetheart. His father and my mother are together. Thus, it is fate that Eli and I end up together. You see? You are just a chapter in his book. So we can go about this two ways. You can either, back down and accept defeat like a good little girl, or…" she dragged out, causing suspense.

"Or… I rip you to shreds. Right here, and right now. What's it going to be?" she hissed, now standing a foot away from where I was standing in front of Eli's desk. _Was she really threatening me right now?_

"Y-you don't scare me," I said, only proving the point that I was terrified.

She laughed. "Well… do I scare you NOW!" said screamed, taking a swing at my head, which I swiftly ducked from. The momentum of her swing caused her to fall forward onto the writing surface of the desk, giving me a few seconds to run to the other side of the room. A stack of large books that were once perched atop of the shelves had now fallen, making an echoing "thud" when they hit the floor.

I then heard stampeding runs coming up to the boys' wing.

"Clare! Clare are you okay in there!" I heard Eli yell from the hallway.

"There's no one here to save you now curly," Julia seethed, recovering from her stumble on the desk. I grabbed the closest thing near me to act as my shield from Julia's oncoming kick.

Her foot ruptured Eli's fluffy pillow into two halves, sending little white feathers all around the room.

"Clare! Clare can you hear me?" I heard Eli yell again.

"Clare! Unlock the door!" said a voice, this time belonging to Remy.

"She can't hear you!" Julia singed toward the door.

I decided to take my chances at escaping by running to the window. Just as I was about to slide it up, I felt a rope-like object wrap around my wrist. I whipped around to find a plant stem wound around me in a tight hold. I followed the line of the stem and saw Julia holding one of Eli's potted plants in her hands.

"What? You forgot that I had powers? That I'm the daughter of Persephone and can control plant growth?" she asked innocently before letting out an evil cackle. "Ha! Your naivety humors me Clare!"

I struggled with the plant by trying to pull it off, but it was too strong. I was beginning to feel a sense of panic wash over my once fearful mind. She had me. She had me right where she wanted me… in her trap…

"What? Too strong?" she said, mocking me. "Well what are you going to do about it! You going to tell me that you "sense" that this isn't going to end well for you! Cause I'd say that's accurate…" she said darkly.

I was stuck. Stuck between a rock and a hard place. It was as if everything had gone into slow motion. The pounding of my housemates trying to ram down the door was muffled in the back of my mind. Julia's sinister laugh was barely heard. And then… something happened.

It was as if the urge to fight back, no… to _conquer_ was coursing through my veins now. I felt as if the power of many was taking over me.

So I bit down on the plant stem, _hard_, and yanked my head back, ripping it as if I were biting into celery. When I looked up at Julia, her eyes were blank before they slowly showed the shock she held inside. Hell… I myself was shocked. But there was no turning back now…

I began walking toward her, slowly, just as she had done to me. I was fed up. I was sick and tired of everyone targeting me. She wanted a fight? Well buck up Julia, cause you got one.

"What? You forgot I had powers? That I'm the daughter of Athena and have battle fighting skills in my blood…?" I fumed, mocking her.

She just kept staring at me, her eyes threatening to pop out of her head. She looked like her mind was filtering many thoughts at the moment until she looked down at the pot in her hand and chucked it at my head.

I caught the pot with ease before compressing it until it crumbled in my hand. I continued walking toward her, an unintentional growl escaping my once innocent mouth. This has gone too far…

I lunged at her, grabbing both of her forearms and throwing her to the ground.

"Clare!" I heard Fiona scream from the other side of the door before I heard muffled sobs and the sound of Adam's soothing.

I turned my attention back to Julia who was picking herself up from the floor. But before she could even get on her hands and knees, I jammed my foot into her stomach, sending her flying toward the wall. She crashed into it, leaving an extreme dent from the contact. She was becoming weaker, fast. But the rage still burned through to her eyes. She looked at me with such hatred, which I'm sure I returned.

"You have no _idea_ what you're getting yourself into…" she almost whispered, daring me to keep going.

I sauntered over to where she laid on the ground and crouched down so my mouth was near her ear. "Bring it…" I whispered, looking her right in the eye and smirked.

She collected herself and made a swift, yet painful looking get-away through Eli's window. I decided not to chase her. I'd let her go and tell her housemates everything that happened. So what if she told Owen? Like I said before, she can bring it. I was tired of this war. But at the same time… it was almost as if it challenged me. It brought out this natural fighting mentality that I didn't even know I had. And I _loved_ it.

"Clare! Clare!" I heard different voices yelling from the outside of the door before it was knocked down to the floor, followed by all six boys tumbling on top of it.

"Clare!" Alli screeched, stepping over the boys and running over to hug me.

I was sitting on the floor next to the spot that Julia had once laid in. I couldn't move. I felt like if I even opened my mouth to say something, I was going to hurt someone. I didn't think I could control myself. So I just sat there, looking straight ahead, waiting for the adrenaline to subside.

"Clare…" Eli breathed out, bringing me into a tight embrace after he got up from the man-pile on the door. Alli was now sobbing into Drew's chest in relief.

"Clare… baby… say something…" Eli pleaded, putting his finger under my chin to lift my head. He took one look at me before his face became covered in confusion. He then turned to Adam and the two shared a look.

"Hey Clare…" Adam said gently, walking over and sitting down right in front of me. He put both of his hands on my shoulders and slowly rocked me back and forth, never taking his eyes off of me.

"Is it working…?" KC whispered to Adam, who told his to hush.

But whatever Adam was doing, it was working. Well… I at least felt something happening. I suddenly felt calmer, more controlled. I felt… _at peace_…

My facial expression must have changed, because Adam slowly pulled his hands back in his lap and smiled at me. "How do you feel Clare…?"

"Better… soothed…" I answered honestly. Adam just smiled triumphantly before standing up to go and stand next to a trembling Fiona.

"Let's get you some water," Eli declared, picking me up and wrapping my legs around his waist. I rested my head on his shoulder like a sleepy child being cared up to bed. Eli led the rest of them down the stairs and into the lobby. He gently placed me on one of the long couches before going into the kitchen to get me a glass of water.

Everyone seated themselves on the other couches and chairs in the room and stayed silent. Nobody knew what to say. Luckily, Eli came back with my drink and took a seat next to me, pulling me into his chest.

"This is a disaster…" Remy sighed, leaning forward so her elbows were on her knees. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands while Gabe sat next to her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

"I think I just made it worse…" I said quietly, causing everyone to look at me.

"What do you mean?" Fitz said from his seat on the chair.

"Well… when I went to go get Eli's sweatshirt… I noticed that the window was open," I said.

"But… I didn't open my window before…" Eli said scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.

"I know," I reassured him. "Julia did…"

They all gasped, but I wanted to get the whole story out.

"And she told me that she was going to hook up with Eli, some how, even if she had to fight me," I said, looking up at Eli, who looked like he wanted to break something.

"But… when it looked like I was done for, something… something came over me…" I confessed.

"Something…?" Drew said, waiting for me to continue.

"Something that willed me to fight back. It was as if I gained this killing instinct, and before I knew it, I was actually beating _her_ up. It was surreal…" I finished.

"Well… Athena was also a warrior goddess, right?" Jenna spoke up from her seat next to KC.

"Yup. She was even 'born' from Zeus' head, fully grown and dressed in battle armor," Remy explained.

"Well… either way… you kicked Julia's ass, right?" Drew asked me, smiling shyly.

Everyone turned to look at me, waiting for my answer.

I smiled. "Oh, _hell yeah_," I said, not able to hold in my giggles. They all cheered and clapped for me.

"You know… this 'bad-ass' Clare is really… _sexy_…" Eli whispered in my ear, making me blush.

"Guys… let's not forget about Julia. What are we going to do now?" Fitz said, reminding us all of the matter at hands.

Silence filled the room again. "Maybe all we can do it see what happens next? You know… since my plan from before was a bust…" Eli said, interrupting the quiet.

"What was your plan…?" I asked him, not able to remember him telling me the details.

He just shook his head. "Don't worry about it," he said with a reassuring smile. I just nodded.

"Come on, let's get to bed. We have class tomorrow," Remy said quickly, dragging Gabe up to her room; the two of them disappeared within seconds.

The rest of us that were left downstairs all shared a look.

"You don't think…" Alli said.

"Nooo… would they?" Jenna added.

"Guys, it's none of our business," I told them, holding my two hands up. They nodded in agreement.

"Come on," I said to Eli once everyone started to walk upstairs to bed.

"You're taking me to your room?" he said to me, amusement in his voice.

"Of course! You don't have a pillow," I told him, flashing him a grin.

**Review if you like "bad-ass" Clare! Or if fanfiction has been giving you problems lately. (I know they've giving me problems) :/ So, review! Tell me what you think! I haven't even been able to see you guys' reviews yet! Stupid computer... But I do know that I have 92 now. Woo-hoo! Can we maybe get it up to 100? That would really make my day! Please review! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Yay! I'm glad you all like bad-ass Clare! And although this chapter isn't action-packed, don't worry. Throughout the rest of the story, there _will_ be action. I promise!**

He was grunting. With every flex of his muscles, he would let out a low, gruff moan. The shaggy bangs that would normally hang lazily over his forehead were now plastered to his face, covered in sweat. I swear… I could stare at Eli while he was working out all day if I could…

"You know, some people would find staring to be rude…" Remy whispered jokingly to me as she walked by me to bring a basket of bread loafs into the kitchen. I followed her, realizing that I was just standing at the doorway of the training room, ogling Eli's toned body.

"Well… staring is such a blunt way to put it. I would rather use the word… _admiring_…" I said to her, smirking from my sarcasm.

She just laughed at me. "Call it what you want hun. You two are crazy for each other," she said, crossing her arms in an attempt to make it official. But the thing is… I think she is right. At least I know that _I'm_ crazy for him… and I'm pretty sure he's crazy for me, right…?

I decided to change the subject and ask about her and Gabe. "So… last night… you pulled Gabe up to your room real fast…" I said, taking a sip of juice, trying to look casual.

She turned a subtle shade of scarlet. "We didn't do anything…" she mumbled.

I just raised an eyebrow in her direction. "Oh yeah… I'm sure you two just couldn't wait to go play bingo up in your room or something," I joked, finishing off the last drop of my OJ.

She sighed. "Okay… fine… we fooled around. But we did not have sex! That is the honest truth!" she said, looking reliable.

I gave her a comforting smile. "You were okay right? I mean… I doubt Gabe would pressure you into anything, but… you were comfortable right? You don't regret anything?" I asked her seriously.

Her facial expression completely changed. She looked like she was watching a romantic movie. Completely smitten… "Nope, no regrets. It was… perfect…" she said dreamily, almost as if she were talking to herself.

I pretended to gag. "Mushy gushy lovey dovey no no!" I screamed, making an "X" with my fingers. We fell into a fit of laughs that lasted maybe two minutes.

"That's good. I'm glad you're so comfortable with him," I told her honestly. She just smiled in thanks and gave me a hug before leaving the kitchen. Just as I closed the refrigerator to put away the carton of juice, Eli walked in, a towel around his neck and his gym-shirt completely stripped. What he _was_ wearing were his basketball shorts, running shoes, yeah… that's it… Now, I _know_ I was ogling. I couldn't help it! Every movement he made would flex one of his growingly toned muscles. And so help me, when he reached up to reach the high cabinet? _Oh my_…his back muscles would contract in the most delicious way that shivers shot down my spine and into my toes.

"Didn't anyone tell you that staring is rude?" he said to me with a smirk when he turned around.

I laughed, "Actually, yes."

He just smirked wider, walking toward me and putting his hands on my hips. He lifted me up so I was sitting on the countertop of the island in the kitchen and our eyes were level. I looked into his jade gaze and saw that his eyes were dangerously dilated. And if it were possible to look into mine, I'm sure you would find the same effect. I lifted my hand to run it down his sweaty chest, all the way down to his stomach. I felt his breath hitch at my touch, which made me smirk. He started to feel me up too when I felt to hands ghost up and down my sides. He leaned his head into my neck and grazed his lips on my skin. He was barely touching me, but it made me see fireworks in the back of my mind. I thought of a way to tease him the way he was to me, and snaked my hands around to his back. I curled my fingers so my fingernails would run along his skin as I slid my hands down. This drove him crazy, because as soon as I dug my nails into his flesh harder, he tightened his grip on my waist and shoved his torso into my open legs. I looked into his eyes and saw an almost animalistic tone in them.

"You make me go insane…" he breathed into my ear. He began giving tiny kisses along my neck, chest and jaw line. I leaned my head back in bliss and let out an accidental moan. He smirked against my skin as he continued to flutter across my face.

And when he stopped his kissing-spree to look into my eyes, I saw such a passion in his eyes. Something I've never seen from anyone. He leaned down, his mouth centimeters away from mine, and said, "You have no idea what you do to me…" his spoke against me, his lips brushing mine as he spoke. Just as he was about to close the gap between us, the sound of thunder shook the ground. We immediately shot our heads up and took our hands off of each other. We shouldn't have been surprised. It had been pouring all day. But we were so caught up in what each other was doing, that we forgot that we were even in the kitchen.

I took a chance and looked at him. He was standing there shyly, scratching the back of his neck. He noticed me looking and turned to face me. He gave me a shy smile, which I happily comforted him with a kiss. He face lit up and his gave me a peck on my forehead before starting to walk out of the kitchen.

"I'm… uh… going to go, uh… shower," he said, pointing upstairs. I nodded for him to go before sighing to myself and hopping off of the counter. I would talk to him after he cleaned up. Because that moment we just had was _not_ something that I could forget very easily. I walked out of the kitchen and went upstairs to go see what the girls were doing.

"Clare! Come here!" I heard Alli squeal from Jenna's room. I walked in to find all four girls sitting about the room.

"There's going to be a dance! This Saturday!" Fiona said to me, waving a flyer in my face.

"When did you get this?" I asked her.

"It was outside of all of the classroom buildings," she answered. That made sense now. My class was cancelled today due to bad weather, since I had Olympic Athletics scheduled. I grabbed the paper from her and read the title aloud.

**Harlot 2 Starlet Annual Dance**

"What the hell? Harlot? They want us to dress up like hookers?" I said, apprehensively.

"No, they don't want us dressed like hookers," Remy explained, chuckling a little.

"We are supposed to look like a cleaned up version. Kind of like a young, sexy lady that is successful in her life," Jenna said, briefing from what she was reading on the paper.

"And I have the perfect dresses for us to wear!" Fiona squealed, running out of the room and into her own to dig through her closet. Oh boy…

**Alrighty! Now, I was able to read all of the reviews you guys gave me (finally!) and I would like to thank you so much for your comments! Now... let's make a little deal. If I get 10 reviews asking to see the dresses they're going to wear at the dance, I will post them on my profile (before I even update the next chapter!) So get to reviewing! Hearts for you all! **


	21. Chapter 21

**13 reviews for one chapter! You guys have no idea how much I loved that! But prepare yourselves... cause something is about to go down... ;)**

Jenna, Alli, Remy, and I watched as Fiona walked back into the room, maybe two-dozen dresses draped in her arms.

"When you first began packing to come here, did you ever think, 'Hey! Maybe I'm bringing too many clothes?'" Alli half joked and half asked seriously.

"You can never be too prepared girls," Fiona responded, laying each dress on the bed so they it could easily be seen.

"Alright, let's start with you Jenna," Fiona said, clapping her hands together. "I think pink would go nicely with your phenotype combination."

Jenna turned to me, looking confused. "Phenotype combination?" she mouthed to me. I just shrugged my shoulders and laughed to myself.

"This one! This one is perfect!" Fiona said, holding up a fitted, strapless dress. Half of it was a light, shiny shade of pink, while the other half was a slightly darker, satiny texture. Now that I see them all, I think all of the dresses Fiona put on display were strapless.

"Now, Alli's turn!" Fiona squealed. I sighed and just sat back to watch the entertaining scene of Alli and Fiona arguing over what color palette Alli should work with.

**(Later that day)**

I was sitting on the fluffy chair in the lobby, a half eaten apple in my hand and the TV set on some random channel that I was barely watching.

"Hey," I heard a voice say behind me. I turned my head to see a freshly showered Eli. He was wearing a pair of baggy sweatpants and a loose t-shirt.

"Hey," I said back, getting up from the chair and tossing my apple core into the trash.

"So… what are you watching?" Eli asked awkwardly, pointing to the TV. I cocked my head to the side and raised a brow at him.

"Eli… are you really interested in what I was on the TV?" I asked him incredulously.

He looked down at his feet. "Not really…" I mumbled to himself. I walked over to where he was standing and lifted his chin so he could look at me.

"Look. I know that what happened in the kitchen was the most extreme thing we've ever done. I think we should talk about it," I told him. He was about to protest, but I cut him off by saying, "Just because we need to talk about it, doesn't mean it was a bad thing. We just have to make sure that we're both on the same page," I explained to him with a smile.

He gave me a shy smile himself and said, "Yes, oh wise one," before giving me a small, sweet kiss on the lips. I grabbed his hand and walked him into the kitchen. I looked around to make sure that no one was already in there before motioning for him to take the seat across from me at the island.

"Well… the only comment that I have for what happened was that… I'm not opposed to it," I said truthfully, causing his head to jolt up from staring at the counter to looking me in the eyes. He had shock covered all over his face and his mouth opened and closed as if he had something to say but nothing was coming out.

"Uh…uh… I… your o-okay with it?" he asked, his voice cracking a little from his growing excitement. I just giggled and nodded.

"I mean… I'm not exactly telling you to take me right here and now, but yeah. If I know that we're both able to control ourselves, why not?" I said to him with a small chuckle. His smile slightly faltered.

"What?" I asked him, noticing his slight change in expression.

"I don't know… it's just… what if I can't control myself…?" he said to me, cautiously looking me in the eye.

"What… why wouldn't you be able to control yourself?" I asked confused.

He sighed loudly. "Because…" he said, taking a pause. "You make me lose control…" he practically whispered.

"E-excuse me?" I said, stunned. What about me could possibly make him lose control?

"When I'm around you, I feel like I enter this world of…of… vulnerability. Almost as if I have to be careful… yet… I'm in the safest place I can be…" he said, his voice cracking slightly. What the _hell_ was he talking about?

"I… I don't know what your saying…" I said quietly, looking at my twiddling thumbs.

Then, he slammed his fists on the table, taking me by surprise. He looked up at me, his red and tear-brimmed eyes boring into mine.

"God damn it Clare! Why don't you get what I'm trying to tell you? This isn't easy for me! And your not picking up any hints from the actual words I'm able to tell you!" he screamed at me, sending an echo through the whole house.

"Well why can't you just tell me what you mean, Eli? It cannot be that hard! Shit! Just come out with it!" I screamed back at him. I felt that boil in my blood start to form again.

"Just shut up, okay? _Please_? God… I feel like I was completely wrong about you! You don't know me! You don't know how you make me feel everyday! How you turn my stomach inside out and put a stutter in my heart! Just leave me alone before I… I…" he shouted, his voice fading at his loss of words.

"Before you what, Eli? You want to punch me? You want to hurt me right now? Fine! Go ahead! I obviously don't understand you, so this must be how you deal with stuff! Go ahead! Hit me…" I seethed, that same power-surge surrounding my thoughts and actions.

His hands were glowing an amber light now and his eyes looked crazy. As if he were holding something back. But just as I thought he was going to say something, he jumped from his seat and stormed out of the kitchen, leaving me with nothing but empty questions.

I had to do something. I had to walk around, go for a run, _do something_. But I didn't want to leave the house. Without thinking, I stood up, knocking over my stool in the process, and ran out of the kitchen. I went up the girls' stairs two steps at a time before I reached my room. I barely nudged my door to a close but I still ended up slamming it from my growing strength. I leaned my back against the wall and slid down to sit on the ground.

How could this happen? What just happened? _Where does this leave us_? Ugh… I screwed up. But the worst part was that… I think I know what Eli was trying to tell me… and the saddest part was… that I feel the same way…

**Clare? What are you saying? Come out with it woman! Haha! Review please! And the next chapter will be the night of the dance, and I'm going to warn you and say that in order for the chapter to be it's best, I'm going to have to write it in multiple POVs. Sound good? See you when I update!**


	22. Chapter 22

**Okay, I'll just get straight to the point. I'm sorry that this update took a week to get up, but let me explain. I'm not going to tell you lies and say that I had things to take care of with the family or my dog died or something. Because that didn't happen. What really kept me from updating was from 2 things. The first one was school. Finals are coming up, and the work pile is getting bigger. So, that is going to be holding me back more starting Monday. And the second reason was... I was having a really hard time getting the movie in my head onto the paper. Does this happen to anyone else? You know what you want to happen, but you just can't seem to word it correctly when typing it? No? Just me? Oh, well... I guess I'm weird. But anyways, yeah... that's why this took so long. And I will definitely post at least once a week. And I would never abandon a story. I care to much about my reviews to do that. :)**

**(Clare's POV)**

I put the finishing touches on my outfit for the night. My dress was a fitted, strapless, gold-leaf-looking mini dress to fit the harlot theme. But to clean it up and not make me seem like I belong on the corner, I iron-styled my hair to make it more polished than natural-sexy. My makeup was light but focused on my eyes with eyeliner and a little mascara.

I grabbed my shoes when I was satisfied with my reflection and walked downstairs to wait for everyone in the lobby. When I got there, I saw Alli and Drew… on the couch… sucking face.

"Did you know that constant make out sessions can cause permanent guppy-face," I joked, successfully getting them to separate for my sake. Drew became flushed while Alli just gave me a playful glare.

"Well… doesn't someone look hot tonight," Alli said to me with a wink. I stuck my tongue at her and smiled before returning my attention to putting my strappy gold heels onto my feet.

"Drew, do I look hot?" Alli asked, turning to Drew. He looked taken aback and stuttered out, "Y-yeah. I told you th-that before…" he said, hiding his face in her hair from the embarrassment that I was sitting _right there_. Alli giggled at his bashfulness before turning back to me.

"So Clare… you ready for tonight?" she asked me, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

I sighed before I responded, "Sure I guess…" I said nonchalantly. Alli was about to say something, but she caught sight of Fiona walking down the stairs and started squealing.

"Fiona! I love the cut-out pattern!" she exclaimed, admiring Fiona's yellow mini with little triangle cut-outs along the hem and one in the middle of her chest. Her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail and her makeup was light like mine.

"Thanks! And if I may say, I'm glad we decided on the teal dress for you," she said, talking about the drapery, aqua-colored dress with a bandeau chest that Alli was sporting for the evening.

"Has anyone seen my red tie?" Fitz shouted from the top of the stairs.

"I think I saw it in the laundry room," I told him, remembering it from when I cleaned last weeks' clothes. He nodded at me before disappearing.

**(Eli's POV)**

I was sitting on the floor of my room, talking with Adam when Fitz knocked on my door.

"Hey guys, did you take my red tie from the laundry room?" he asked us.

"Nope," I said glumly, looking at Adam.

"Me neither man. But I've got a red one if you need it," he suggested.

"Really? Cool man, thanks," Fitz replied as Adam nodded and went in his room to get the tie.

"So… what's up with you and the lady?" Fitz asked me, casually sitting on my bed.

I sighed. "I don't know man. We got into this really bad argument about… what page we're on or something…" I said, running my fingers through my hair.

"Oh trust me. Me and probably everyone else in the house heard _all_ about it," he said, giving me an apologetic smile.

I groaned loudly. "You should have seen us…" I said, lying on my back to stare at my ceiling. "The way we were looking at each other… I swear… if a random person walked in on us, they'd think we were mortal enemies…" I said pathetically.

"Oh come on… it couldn't have been that bad…" Fitz said with a small laugh in an attempt to lighten the mood.

I sat up again to look him in the face. "She got that same look she had right after she fought Julia… and my hands were glowing," I said blank-faced before lying down again.

"…So it was that bad…" Fitz said to himself, trying to think of what to say to me.

"Well… have you talked to her since?" he asked.

"No…" I confessed. "We've basically been ignoring each other the entire week… the worst week of my life…" I told him.

"Is he telling you about his depressing week?" Adam asked Fitz when he came back with the red tie.

"Yeah, that and moping… extremely…" Fitz said, giving me an apologetic look.

"Dude… just talk to her. Clare is the most considerate person I know," Adam told me, grabbing my hand to pull me up on my feet.

"That she is," I heard a voice say. The three of us turned toward my doorway to see Remy leaning against the frame.

"Aw! You look pretty Remy!" Adam told her, going in for a side hug, which she happily gave him. She did look pretty. Her dress was a dark purple that fitted snuggly and had little silver gems all around it. Her hair and makeup was how it was normally done, and she was holding her silver heels by the straps in her hands.

"Thank you Adam," she said with a smile. "But I'm here to make sure Eli wears his gold tie," she said, turning to face me.

"Why is my wearing a gold tie so important?" I asked her, pulling my white dress shirt from the closet.

"Because," she said, walking over to Fitz to help him put on his red one. "Clare is wearing a gold dress…" she said, turning her head to look at me seriously. I froze in my stance. She was wearing a gold dress? Oh, I could just imagine how the shimmer would contrast with her curly locks and bring out her gorgeous blue eyes…

"Oh…" I said dumbly. She laughed at my lack of words.

"Guys, could you give Eli and me a minute?" she asked Adam and Fitz politely. They nodded and left me alone with Remy.

"Eli…" she said. "I know you. And we're more alike than you think," she said, her arms crossed over her chest as she sat on the edge of my bed.

"Oh really…" I mumbled as I looked in my drawer for my black tie.

"Yes really," she said with a chuckle. "If I had to take a guess, the reason you guys began the argument because you we're frustrated and didn't know how to tell her what your feeling, right?" she said, causing me to look at her in shock.

"... Were you watching us…?" I asked her. She smiled at me.

"No… I heard you. But, I _was_ anticipating the moment you would snap," she told me with a shy smile. I stopped digging through my drawer to look at her, really _look at her_. She looked so honest. So _concerned_. I sat down on the bed next to her.

"Okay… I'm listening," I told her.

She took a deep breath before saying, "I know Eli… I know it can be hard. But if you want my advice, just wait for her. Give her as much time as she needs."

"But I'm so confused!" I exclaimed. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before saying, more calmly, "I mean… I'm just not sure of anything right now," I told her desperately. She nodded before taking the tie from my hands and to place it on the bed.

"I want you to really listen to me Eli," she said, lifting my collar to prepare to put my tie around my neck.

"Clare is the daughter of Athena, goddess of wisdom. Are you following?" she said, twisting a tie around my neck. I nodded for her to continue.

"Well, the wise nature to Clare's personality is somewhat holding her back from admitting what she really feels," she explained to me.

"But why is it so hard for her to accept that we're both advancing in this relationship? I mean… if wisdom is one of her specialties, then why is it so hard for her to see that… this is okay?" I asked her anxiously.

She sighed. "Eli… how old is Clare"

"Uh… 16?" I said, unsure at what she was getting at.

"And how old is Athena?" she said, quieter to make sure I was listening.

"Um… _older_…" I said confused.

She smiled at me. "Exactly. Athena has years under her belt that surpass Clare's by far. She's still getting the hang of everything Eli. Trust me. Let her know that your there for her, _for as long as she needs_…" she said, placing her hands in her lap.

I thought about what she said. She was right. These… these powers that we have. They're all new. We need time to adjust.

"Okay…" I whispered, smiling at her. She smiled back at me before lifting her hand to pat my cheek and go downstairs.

I stood up to look at myself in the mirror. I was wearing my white cotton shirt, black dress pants and shoes, and… _a gold tie_… I smiled to myself at her trickery before winking in the mirror and walking downstairs.

**(Clare's POV)**

I was talking to Jenna about how she styled her hair, which was pin-straight and had two small sections from each side that twisted to a connection in the back, when KC said, "Finally! Okay, everyone's here. Let's go!" He grabbed Jenna's hand and pulled her toward the door, causing her to giggle.

I looked around, searching in particular for a face. That's when I saw him…

He was halfway down the stairs and staring right at me. His hair was in its normal state, combed straight and framed his perfect face. He had black dress pants and shoes on, which he paired with a white dress shirt and… _a gold tie_…

I instinctively looked down at my own gold outfit and back up at him in awe. I know that Remy was going to tell him to wear that color tonight... _but I didn't know if he'd actually do it_…

I stood up from the couch and smoothed out my dress, noticing that he was walking towards me.

"Hi…" he said quietly, looking at me with such intensity, almost as if he were taking the whole sight of me in at once.

"Hi…" I whispered back.

He looked down at his feet and to a shaky breath before saying, "Clare, listen… I—"

"Come on guys! Let's gooo already!" Fiona squealed from the front door.

I looked back at him, my facial expression telling him to continue. But he just told me, "It can wait till later." He smiled at me before holding his hand out in front of his body, cueing me to walk in front of him.

"Ladies first," he said with a smirk. _God… that smirk…_

**(Later)**

It's been maybe forty minutes since we got here, and Eli has _yet_ to tell me what he was about to say before we left the house. So right now, I was not dancing and having a good time. No… I was sitting… at a table… overhearing a conversation between Wesley and Connor…

"Connor, come on! Just ask somebody!"

"You don't understand… I'm going to say the wrong thing… and… and she's going to think I'm weird."

Connor was the son of Harpocrates, god of silence. He's wasn't the most outgoing person, but from when I knew him better at Degrassi, he was actually a pretty sweet guy.

"No! She'll think you're the super-awesome Connor-man!" Wesley told him optimistically. He was the son of Euphrosyne, goddess of good cheer and merriment. He was always so naïve and positive. Even that one time when he tried to cop a feel on my boobs…

"Oh look! There are some twins over in the corner by the DJ! Let's go ask them!" he told Connor, slapping him on the back before the two of them walked off. …Now I'm alone… greeeaaaaatt….

"Alright ladies and gents! I needs me a break here. So you guys take a cooler from yo dancin' skills, and I'll be back in 'bout 5-to-10. Aight?" the DJ, who is apparently the daughter of Aoide, muse of song, said into her microphone before heading out the front door with a cigarette in hand.

I sighed before picking myself up from the cushioned chair and walking toward the bathroom.

"Clare! There you are!" Jenna said to me once I stepped through the door. She was using her fingers to smooth down her hair in the mirror.

"Yeah, where were you? Dancing the night away with Eli?" Fiona asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

I sighed. "Eli still hasn't told me what he was going to say back at the house."

"What? He hasn't talked to you at all yet?" Remy asked, looking up from the sink where she was washing her hands.

"No! Every time I look over at him, he always looks like he's becoming really nervous and pretends to be talking to Fitz!" I exclaimed, frustrated, leaning my back against the wall.

"Well… then why don't you go talk to him?" Alli said, her mouth making and "O" as she put on mascara.

"Oh… I wouldn't bother with him darlin'…" I voice said from inside the far stall.

We all turned to see the door open to reveal a green-garbed Bianca.

"Good lord…" I heard Jenna mutter under her voice, annoyed.

"Hey now! We're friends… I was Fitzy's arm candy, remember?" she said, holding her hands up in defense.

"Of course. Even though you dumped him after treating him like the plague the day before. So tell us… what can we do for you, pal?" Remy said, scoffing while drying her hands.

"I'm just here to tell Miss Clare that she's wasting her time…" she said, turning to smirk at me.

"And what exactly do you mean by that?" I said, pushing myself off of the wall and crossing my arms over my chest.

"Oh… you didn't get the message the first time? Julia got your man now, hunny," she said as if it was obvious.

"Does that girl _have_ a life?" Alli said to herself exasperated.

"Excuse you?" Bianca said, talking to Alli, but quickly decided to ignore her comment to type something into her phone. "But if you don't believe me… take a look for yourself," she said to me.

"… What are you talking about…?" I asked her perplexed. She just walked past me and wagged her finger, motioning me to follow her.

"Take a good look Shirley Temple," Bianca told me, once we left the bathroom. And that's when I saw them… and all I could do was gasp…

**(Julia's POV) **

"Owen. Owen? Owen! You giant slob! Are you listening to me?" I yelled at the bigheaded egomaniac that I call my housemate.

He grunted. "Huh?" He is such an idiot. He was staring at my dress, almost as if I were standing in front of him… bare-naked…

"Listen you power-whore. Let's review the plan. Once the DJ takes her break and Clare goes to the bathroom, I'm going to go over and seduce Eli. And when Bianca brings her out and she sees us makkin' off… oh… she'll _break down_. That's when you're in the clear to go after her. When she's most vulnerable. Okay? Owen? Are you listening to me!" I scream at him, smacking him upside the head. He could be such a lard-ass sometimes.

"What? Huh? Yeah, I was listening. It's just hard when all you talk about is seducing Eli. When the _real_ objective here is getting to Clare," he said to me before scoffing and sipping from his cup.

Ugh… he could be so self-centered sometimes. I mean, without me and my rockin' body, his elimination of Eli from Clare's protection army would be a total bust. So I made sure that I played to my advantages and wore a dress that would show off my perfection. It was a little black number that fit tight and ended at my upper thigh. It's chest area draped down to show ample cleavage. To be frank… I was looking _hot_!

I overheard the DJ announce that she was going to go smoke a cigarette, so I smoothed down my dress and turned to Owen. "How do I look?"

He looked me up and down before saying, "I don't think you'll have a problem attracting attention." See Owen? It's easy to say nice things to people.

"Good. Oh, there she goes! Okay, you'll be ready right?" I ask him, already starting to walk away. He looked like his mind was elsewhere again, so I just waved him off. I knew he was too determined to overtake Clare to forget his cues.

Alright Julia. Walk like you mean it girl. Yes, that's it. Left, right, left, right… swing those hips. And stick the chest out! There you go! Work it!

"Elijah Goldsworthy…" I purred, once I got to where he was standing by the punch bowl.

He looked up from his cup filled with the sweet, pink juice and our eyes met. I swear… I could feel the electricity from our eye contact. I mean, hell! He even jumped back from it when he saw me!

"Julia! What the hell! You scared me!" he exclaimed, putting his hand over his chest.

"Oh, I'm sorry baby. Tell me what I can do to make it up to you…" I told him tenderly, putting my own hand over his.

"I don't know… Go away and lock yourself in your room for the rest of the night…?" he joked with me. He was so funny!

"Hmm… I'll go to my room if you come with me…" I said huskily, dragging my finger down his chest to loop it onto his belt buckle.

"Julia…" he started to say. _The way he says my name is so hot._ "I'm not interested in you. My heart belongs to Clare," he said, leaning away from me.

"Oh come now. What she doesn't know won't hurt her. Just… kiss me. Go ahead, try it. I don't bite…" I said, slowly closing the gap between our mouths.

"Julia, no. I will not kiss you. Quite frankly, I find you skanky and obnoxious. Please go away," he said quickly, trying not to look at me in the eye. I felt a buzzing coming form my phone that I taped to my inner-thigh. Bianca was bringing Clare out… now. This had to be done. I had to make him kiss me. It's the best for everyone! Eli and I get together, Owen gets a clear shot at Clare, everybody wins!

"Eli, baby. I'm going to force this now, but trust me. When we're finally together, you're going to thank me," I told him. He was about to say something in argument, but I swiftly grabbed his hand to place them on my cheeks. I jerked my head back quickly, causing his face to crash into mine. Oh man was this hot… He gasped from my sudden kiss, giving me the opportunity to stick my tongue into his mouth. He tasted like the knock-off punch they were serving. I grabbed his tongue with my lips and sucked on it, vowing to never let it go. To never let him go…

And somewhere in the background noise of everything happening around us, I heard several dramatic gasps.

**(Eli's POV) **

This was wrong. Wrong in so many ways. All I was doing was minding my own business by the punch bowl, thinking over for the billionth time what I was going to say to Clare. But of course, Julia just _had_ to come sauntering over, flirting like a whore who had slow business.

I tried to tell her to leave me alone as nice as possible. I kept my sentences short and straight to the point. I didn't want to be around her. But it was almost as if she had a filter in her mind. One that would change any negative comment from me and turn it into a compliment to her.

"When we're finally together, you're going to thank me," she said, confusing the shit out of me. I was about to argue with her again when she grabbed my hands and placed them on her cheeks. She jerked back, causing me to kind of fall into her, our mouths colliding. I gasped instinctively from this sudden behavior. And Julia… _being Julia_… saw this as an opportunity to stick her slimy tongue into my mouth. Ugh… if I wasn't taken by such a surprise, I might have just vomited into _her_ mouth. Then, when I though this couldn't get any worse, she latched onto my tongue with her lips, refusing to let go.

I heard gasps coming from the side of the room, varying in emotions. I turned my head to see what was going on, but all I saw was the back of Clare's head… running away and into the shadows of the little hallway.

"Ulia! Let ga a my thongue!" I said, unable to properly pronounce words form my lack of tongue.

"Na uh," she hummed stubbornly. How could this girl think of any more ways to possible annoy me? I had enough. I had to go find Clare and clear up this big misunderstanding. I was starting to get increasingly angry, and I knew that my hands were glowing amber against Julia's skin. Soon enough, thankfully, they became so hot that Julia tore my hands and her mouth away from me to shriek in pain.

"Eli! What are you doing! We were having a moment!" she said, glaring at me like _I_ was the one doing something wrong.

I started to walk in the direction that I saw Clare escape to when Julia grabbed my bicep to turn me back around.

"Eli, don't go! She's a little girl! You need a woman! I'm a woman…" she purred, holding the back of my head and tilting it down so my line of vision stared right at her overly-exposed chest.

"No, Julia. You're not a woman. You're a hoe. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find my_ lady_," I said sternly, tearing her hands off of me. I took a few more steps away before turning around and saying, "And if you ever try to sexually assault me again, I'll be sure to burn more than your face," I said, pointing to the hand marks I left on her cheeks.

Now… to go find Clare… and tell her…

**(Owen's POV)**

Julia's plan to make Clare heartbroken over Eli was going smoothly. When she saw those two locking lip, her chin started to quiver and she took off into the dark hallway to cry. _Perfect_…

"Nice work on your part," I said to Bianca, walking up to where she was standing.

"Thanks," she said emotionlessly.

"Is… something wrong?" I asked her, confused as to why she wasn't more proud of herself.

She just pointed at the scene of Julia and Eli kissing, only, they weren't kissing…

Julia was screaming at Eli for burning her or something, and Eli began walking into the direction of the hallway, probably looking for Clare.

"Don't freak out. He could still go back to Julia and forget all about Clare," Bianca said cautiously, trying to keep me from getting too angry. But when I saw Eli start to walk away again, I almost lost it. He was ruining everything! If he went back to Clare, he would protect her _that much more_ than before! I would have no chance at capturing her for my father! Not with both him and Remy in the way! I had to stop him. No… _end him_…

"Round up the house. Tell them to pick someone form House 3 and make sure that they don't get in the way…" I told Bianca quickly before running after Eli.

I was maybe a foot away from him when I wrapped my hand over his mouth and my other arm around his neck.

"You listen to me. Your time ends now. You will _not_ mess this up for me. For my father…" I said darkly, dragging him outside toward the field.

**Ta da! Tell me what you guys think! And again, I'm sorry about the late update. Reviews=:)**


	23. Chapter 23

**Alrighty! This chapter is kind of short, cause the next scene I'm trying to write is taking a while. So I took the completed part out to update on its own. Enjoy! :)**

**(Remy's POV)**

"Gaaabbbeeee…" I dragged out, fighting back the urge to moan.

"But… you're… so… soft…" he murmured against my neck.

"Babe… I have to go see what happened to Clare…" I tried to tell him as he placed tiny, soft kisses on my neck.

Normally, I would be all for this. But right now, I was worried about Clare. The last time I saw her, Bianca told her to follow her outside. Next thing I know, I hear gasps from the dance-floor and the sound of someone running past the doorway of the bathroom. When the other girls and I went to see what was going on, we were nearly trampled over by running people! Thankfully, I fell into Gabe, who fell into a linen closet. And that's how we got into this position…

He reluctantly detached his lips from my skin and leaned his forehead against mine.

"You know… sometimes I don't know if I should think that your compassion for others is a good thing or a bad thing," he joked, whispering against my face.

I chuckled to myself before kissing his nose, lacing my fingers in his, and opening the door to expose the madness that unfolded while we were in the closet.

"What the hell…" I heard Gabe whisper to himself, taking in the sight of people running, screaming, and who knows what else. I saw a familiar face and quickly stopped them to ask what was going on.

"Drew! What is going on!" I yelled over the deafening screams and panicked voices that filled the room.

He looked extremely flustered and was slightly sweating under the neon lights. "Owen is going to fight Eli… Clare ran away crying… and it's all just a big mess!" he screamed, flailing his arms for effect.

I turned my head around to share a look with Gabe that could have said, " What the eff did we miss?"

But when we turned to look at Drew again, he was being dragged away by someone who had him in a headlock.

"Drew!" I screamed, beginning to run after him. For some reason, I didn't feel Gabe running behind me.

"Gabe come on! We have to—" I began, but was cut off from my shock of watching Gabe, a gag in his mouth, being pulled in the opposite direction.

Before I could even consider which way I would run to, I was trampled along with the crowd, eventually stumbling out the door and into the fresh, war-shaken air.

**(Clare's POV)**

I was sitting against the brick walls of the building, my hot tears cascading down my cheeks as my body shook uncontrollably. Why did all of this happen? When did my life get so complicated?

Okay, stop crying. You have to stop crying, Clare. You don't want people to see you like this. So broken… so pathetic. I used the pads of my fingers to wipe away my running makeup.

"Get the hell OFF me!" I heard someone yell from within the giant mass of people tumbling out of the dance.

"…Clare!" I heard the same voice yell, growing closer by the second. I looked around frantically, searching for the mystery voice. Once I looked to my right, I saw Remy, fuming.

"What happened? Who did this to you?" she asked me, pissed off from all of the chaos that erupted.

Between my wretched sobs I was able to inform her of everything that occurred while she and the rest of the girls were still in the bathroom.

"Oh… Clare…" she said, touched by my pain. She pulled me into an embrace, allowing me to fall apart in the protection of her arms. I felt my chest heave uncontrollably. I've let myself get in to deep. Growing up, everyone around me displayed what really came of love.

_Heartache._

I should have known. How could I be so stupid? I know how. I let myself fall…

"Clare, you have to listen to me okay? Owen is going to fight Eli any minute. We need to get help. I need you to think Clare. What is the quickest way to get a message to all of the house-members if they're being held off one by one?" she said, grabbing my shoulders to look me in the eye, showing me the urgency of her question.

I began to think. I don't know if it was because my mind was all kinds of messed up at the moment, or if my rational inner self was guiding the way. But I stood up, grabbed Remy's hand, and sprinted toward the house with her right behind me.

**Yup... I know... more cliffhangers? Oh you know you love them. ;) But thank you guys for your reviews, and I promise to get the next scene in ASAP! You're not going to know what hit you! Reviews please! Let's see who can guess what's going to happen with the Owen VS. Eli duel! :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**Miss me? I hope so! Now, I know some of you must me mad at me for not updating in a while. But I have good news! School is about to end! Which means… MORE UPDATEING TIME! *****Cheers***** Yay! But, anyway. This chapter may leave you on a little cliff. …Okay… maybe a big one… ;)**

**(Clare's POV)**

I was running. Running on nothing. But yet… my legs were moving… and my feet were stepping one in front of the other. Remy was right behind me, following my lead.

"Clare? Where are we going?" Remy yelled over the noise.

I didn't even answer her. Because we were here…

"The house…?" she said incredulously.

"Just come _on_," I said, dragging her up the stairs, busting through the door.

"Where is it…" I kept mumbling, searching frantically throughout the house.

"Where is what? Clare, please! Let me in on your plan!" Remy said, exasperated at my lack of explanation.

I still didn't answer. Just as I'd thrown the last of our countless pillows on the floor in the lobby, I felt this pang of pain. It almost resembled a headache, but it was very small… and specifically on my left temple. I closed my eyes for a moment, hoping it would pass. But when I closed my eyes, those splotchy lights people usually see… all moved to the left.

My eyes shot open to face Remy, who looked completely confused.

Without thinking, my feet took me to the pile of neglected blankets on the floor. I pushed the plush fabric around until I felt a hard surface under my hand.

"Gotcha" I murmured.

I reached down and grabbed onto the box we were given by Hermes and thrusted it into Remy's chest.

"This…" I breathed, "This is what is going to help us contact the rest of the house."

She stared at the box, blank faced for a few seconds before her eyes got big and she looked at me with a grin of realization.

"Genius…" she whispered, grabbing my wrist to sit o the floor and placing the box firmly on the floor in between us. She lifted the lid and spoke into the space: Alliah Bhandari.

Within seconds, the hologram figurine of Hermes appeared, floating atop of the emptiness in the box.

"Remy! Clare! What is it that I can do for you girls?" he said cheerfully. The Gods must not know about the brawl brewing between Eli and Owen…

"Hermes! We need your help!" I screamed out of anticipation. His face instantly become stone-cold serious.

"What's wrong…" he said cautiously.

"Owen and Eli are going to fricken' rip each other's heads off any second, the rest of the house is on lockdown by Owen's group, and we have no communication to anyone at the moment!" Remy said, out of breath.

"I'm on it…" he declared before disappearing from our view.

I turned to Remy and let out a small sigh of relief. But our moment only lasted for a moment before we realized, we have more problems to deal with.

**(Eli's POV)**

"Owen! Let go of—" I was cut off by my voice being muffled by his hand.

"Shut up," he said darkly. "I don't want to hear your vile voice."

With that, he threw my body onto the ground in the middle of the field where the Opening Festival was held. He dragged me here from the dance after Julia stuck her tongue in my mouth. Apparently Clare saw the whole thing and ran off crying. _I hated to see her cry_… I tried running after her, but… _he_ took me.

"Oof…" I unintentionally grunted at the contact with the firm dirt. I looked up to see Owen staring down at me, his eyes glowing.

"You think you're a real smart-ass don't you…" he seethed.

"I don't know what you're talking about or why you're even doing this. Just leave me alone Owen! Leave _Clare_ alone!" I retorted desperately. If he was planning on fighting me… _oh man_… this would not end well…

"Ha!" he mocked me. "Are you really being that naïve? This is a big boy's game, Eli. I'm just getting rid of all the weak meat before the real games begin…" he said evilly.

Before I could even respond, much less blink, he arm swung around and he slashed my face with his finger-nails.

I hissed out in pain and gentle touched the clawed lines I was now sporting on my right-cheek.

"Is that seriously all you can do?" I said, standing up. If he wanted a fight, I better muster up something to fight back with…

His blue eyes flashed a darker color for a split second before I felt the ground beneath me start to shake. Was he… was he making an earthquake?

The ground beneath my feet started to crumble violently. It all happened so fast, I didn't even predict that the earth would split between my two legs.

"Ahh!" I cried out, falling into the crack in the ground, hanging onto the edge with my two hands.

"No!"

"Oh my god!"

"Someone do something!"

I was so focused on the task at hand, I just now realized that the rest of the camp formed a fighting-ring around Owen and me.

"It's a damn shame…" Owen said, walking over to where I was dangling over black, unknown darkness in the soil. "You shouldn't have to meet your father this way. Not like this…" When he stood inches from my helpless grasp on the edge, the toe of his shoe poked my fingers. "But then again… I don't really care about your Daddy-relationships," he concluded, pushing the thumb of my left hand off of the mini cliff.

"You thought your mediocre plan would really work?" he said incredulously.

"Wh—What?" I stuttered, confused.

He pushed my pointer finger off. "Cut the crap. You didn't think Bianca would really betray me like that did you?"

"… I don't know what you're talking about!" I said frustrated.

Middle finger, gone. "Your master plan, Eli. You know… when you wanted to turn me into a pig…" he said menacingly.

I froze. He knew. A little while back, when Fitz was still with Bianca, I came up with a plan. You see, Bianca's mom was Circe, the witch who turned the king of Ithaca, Odysseus' men into pigs. The idea was for Bianca to turn Owen into a pig temporarily, just to prove that our house was not one to be messed with. Oh how that plan backfired…

"What? No bull-shit comments?" he screamed in my face, pushing off the rest of my hand.

Beyond my own fears, I heard the crowd gasp as they watched my chance of survival literally slip out of my hands. But it can't end like this…

I felt myself changing. As if a fire was running its course throughout my entire body. I looked down at the hand that Owen pushed and stared in awe at the ember glow radiating from my palm. I could feel the backs of my eyes burning. Something was coming over me…

I thought of Clare. How she would go on without me if I were gone. The things that Owen would do to hurt her. The other guys that would come and go in her life. If that thought didn't kill me right then, nothing could…

I looked up at Owen's grinning face with raw detestation. There was no one I would rather strangle right now than him.

I closed my eyes and focused all of my energy on making something, anything happen. Come on! Why did my powers decide to not work today of all days?

"AaaaAAAAHHHHH!"

I heard a blood-curdling scream coming from within the crowd, making me open my eyes.

Some people were cheering. Some were booing. And Owen stood a few feet away from me, a blazing fire spreading over his clothes.

I watched in amusement as he resembled a disoriented dancer, trying to pat down and calm the fire.

"Somebody get some water!"

I took this opportunity to use my growing strength to hoist myself over the edge and onto solid ground. I could feel the adrenaline pumping through my veins and the killer instinct clouding my mind.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone, maybe Bianca, running through the crowds, lugging a gigantic barrel of water. By the time she got to the front of the crowd, Owen hastily pulled the water over him, ridding of the flames.

His chest was heaving and he hair was stuck to his slicked-over face. The corners of his mouth surprisingly curled up into a Cheshire cat grin and he wagged his finger at me.

"You…" he paused to chuckle to himself, "You surprised me." He just kept laughing to himself. _Kind of like a loony…_

After he collected himself a few seconds later, the tension in the air grew thicker and thicker. He began mumbling something under his breath, his hand clenching and unclenching. Nobody knew what it was he was doing. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw water from a nearby lake start to ripple violently. It started to rise, floating in the air, circling like a whirlpool.

"You know, I didn't want it to have to be me…" he finally spoke. The muscles on his arms started to contract along with his hands, almost as if they were following a beat.

"I didn't want to have to kill you directly…" he seethed.

Just then, he threw his hands up violently, causing the rotating water to shoot out. Shoot out… in my direction.

**(Clare's POV)**

"Come on!" Remy said, her shoes dangling in her hands as she desperately tried to keep me at our sprinting pace.

"Wait! Just…" I started, grunting slightly from trying to quickly slip my heels off. "Got it! Let's go!"

We finally made it to where Owen and Eli were going at it like caged animals. The crowd was massive and people everywhere were cheering, booing, or crying.

"Clare! Remy!" yelled out a voice just loud enough to be deciphered over the booming noise. The two of us turned to see Jenna. Her hair was all distraught and she had a gash on her left shoulder and a scrape on both knees.

"Jenna! Oh my… what happened to you?" Remy said, shocked.

"What? Oh, psh," she said, waving her hand as if it were nothing. "Don't worry about me. Worry about Eli. He's basically going up against a wild animal!" she said, pulling us to the front of the crowd where we could easily see all that was going on.

"I didn't want to have to kill you directly…" Owen spat out at Eli. His was drenched and looked like he might implode any second from his angered clenching. Eli however, looked like a deer caught in headlights. He had a claw mark on his face, but besides that, he actually didn't really have any damage. _I spoke to soon…_

Suddenly, Owen shot his hands up in the air. Water from a nearby lake soared through the sky and collided with Eli. But instead of just splashing over him, it enveloped him, _over and over…_

It just wouldn't stop. I felt the strings of my heart being yanked on drastically. I tried to run out to Eli, to go help him. But Jenna and Remy were holding me back, telling me that it wasn't safe. But I could tell that they were hurting inside too.

He was a goner. No way he could survive that. Any longer and he would die instantly, I knew it. But then, it happened…

Where Owen stood, firm and proud, a black cloud began hovering over him. It stayed there for a good five seconds before swallowing him into hiding and disappearing, taking Owen with it.

Silence. No one knew what to say. Luckily, the water stopped suffocating Eli and Owen was gone. _But to where?_

"Eli!" I shrieked, looking over at his limp body, sodden on the unforgiving ground. I ran over to him and turned his body over onto his back. His eyes were closed and his lips were slightly parted. I gathered his shirt in my fist and started to shake him.

"Eli! Eli please! Wake up! Please wake up, Eli!" I cried out, not caring if I looked like a broken widow.

"Someone get help!" I heard the voice of Alli say. The members of our house were starting to collect around us. I saw Remy bolt toward one of the community buildings, most likely getting aid.

I grabbed Eli's face into my hands and put my forehead on his.

"Please… Please…" I kept mumbling, rocking back and forth on my knees. My face was completely wet know. Not from Eli, but from my own tears.

"Don't leave me Eli, please… " I pleaded. Then, I said something that actually shocked myself…

"I love you…"

**O_O… What didja think? Review and let me know how you reacted to this chapter. It's about to get REALLY interesting from here on out! Love 'til next time! R & R!**


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